Woodstock Hospital Announces Visitor Restrictions

Monday, 16 March 2020 17:21

The Woodstock Hospital has announced new visitor restrictions including only allowing two family members to visit at a time and nobody under the age of 18, unless it is a special circumstance.

WOODSTOCK - The Woodstock Hospital is implementing new visitor restrictions and have released the following statement:

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is evolving rapidly, the safety of our patients, staff and the broader community remains our top priority. Woodstock Hospital is working with our partners in health care and Southwestern Public Health to monitor, assess and isolate any potential COVID-19 cases. Effective March 17, 2020, Woodstock Hospital will be implementing modified visiting hours and mandatory screening of all patients and visitors before entering the hospital.

For everyone’s safety, if you are feeling unwell it is very important that you DO NOT visit patients at Woodstock Hospital. Woodstock Hospital’s visiting guidelines will be as follows:

Inpatient Areas

- Visiting hours are now restricted from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

- At any given time, ONLY two (2) family members/caregivers are permitted to visit. These visitors must leave the hospital before another family member/caregiver is permitted to visit

- Family members/caregivers under the age of 18 will NOT be permitted to visit in any inpatient area, except under special circumstances

- Movement around the hospital is restricted. Family members/caregivers must remain in the patient’s room/environment when visiting

- Special Circumstances: On a case-by-case basis, exceptions to the above policy will be made in situations such as palliative and critical conditions.

Emergency Department

- ONLY one (1) family member/caregiver (over the age of 18) can accompany the patient

- Special Circumstances: On a case-by-case basis, exceptions to the above policy will be made in certain situations

Outpatient Services

- ONLY one (1) family member/caregiver (over the age of 18 years) can accompany the patient.

- In light of COVID-19 there could be potential cancellations and or rescheduling of your service. We advise patients to call ahead of their scheduled procedure/appointment to ensure there have been no changes.

Woodstock Hospital and CEO Perry Lang says they did not make these decisions lightly.

“The hospital has implemented its Incident Management System, and this COVID-19 Action Team is meeting on a daily basis to review directions from the Ministry of Health, to determine next steps to protect our patients, staff and community. We have received direction to take a planned approach and begin to carefully ramp down elective surgeries and other non-emergent clinical activity. As this situation is changing daily, we appreciate the public’s patience and ask them to stay informed by visiting our website. At this time, I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to all of our health care workers, who are dedicated to the health and well-being of our community. Together, we will continue to provide the same level of high quality care and compassion for our patients, as we always have.”