Atrium Health Navicent Updates Visitor Restrictions to Extend Visiting Hours

Health system remains committed to proactively protecting central Georgians from COVID-1

Atrium Health Navicent has chosen to modify certain portions of its visitation policy to extend visiting hours and adjust other guidelines. These changes are effective Tuesday, May 10, 2022, and only visitors described below will be permitted into Atrium Health Navicent facilities.

Visitors include those who are visiting/accompanying patients.

Guidelines

· Visitation hours will be held 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Visitors to patients in emergency departments and urgent cares may visit during operating hours.

· All system-wide inpatients may have four (4) visitors during daily visiting hours and (2) overnight visitors, excluding COVID-19 units. See special considerations.

· Visitors must be aged (2) or older.

· Two (2) visitors are allowed at the bedside at a time.

· Essential visitors may change out daily.

· Visitors must remain in patient room at all times.

· Adult patients in outpatient and ambulatory settings may have one (1) visitor. Minor patients – those under the age of 18 – may have two (2) visitors in outpatient and ambulatory settings.

Special Considerations

· Patients in Atrium Health Navicent Family Birth Center (after delivery) may have one (1) overnight visitor, but cannot swap.

· Patients at Atrium Health Navicent Rehabilitation Hospital may receive visitors from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

· COVID-19 patients and patients being tested for COVID-19 may have one (1) visitor per day. The visitor must wear a mask and may wear other personal protective equipment (PPE), including a gown, gloves and eye protection, which will be provided upon request. The visitor must stay in the patient room at all times with the door closed, and will utilize a designated restroom based on the patient’s location. Visitors are urged to eat before arrival, but to remain at least 6 feet away from the patient before removing a mask to eat. After the visit, visitors must exit the facility without visiting any other location.

· Overnight visitors must stay at the patient’s bedside. If a patient needs an in-room procedure that requires the visitor to leave the room, the visitor may wait in the hallway outside the patient’s room.

· Some Intensive Care Units lack the capacity for overnight visitors; in these units, overnight visitors are at the discretion of unit leadership.

· Waiting rooms and communal sleeping areas will remain closed.

· Some visitors arrive with patients via entrances other than the main visitor entrance (ex. Surgery, Emergency, Heart Procedures). In the event a patient who entered through any entrance other than the main visitor entrance is admitted and the visitor chooses to stay overnight, the visitor must check-in at the main entrance and receive a visitor band during visiting hours (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.). If the patient is admitted after visiting hours, the visitor may stay overnight and check-in at the main entrance during the next day’s visiting hours.

This visitation policy applies to Atrium Health Navicent locations, including:

· Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital

· Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center

· Atrium Health Navicent Peach

· Atrium Heath Navicent Baldwin

· Monroe County Hospital, an Atrium Health Navicent Partner

· Atrium Health Navicent Rehabilitation Hospital

· AHN Emergency Rooms, Urgent Care Centers, Clinics and Diagnostics Centers

All facilities may be accessed through their main lobbies and/or emergency centers. Individuals with cough, fever, shortness of breath or other flu-like symptoms are asked to refrain from visiting. Greeters at public entrances will continue to ask basic screening questions, guide those seeking treatment to the appropriate location and assist visitors as needed.

Atrium Health Navicent recognizes that interacting with loved ones can be helpful to the healing process and strongly encourages everyone to utilize other forms of support for their loved ones, including phone calls and video chats on cell phones or other mobile devices. Patients have access to Wi-Fi to assist with mobile communication.

The health of our patients and the community is the greatest concern at Atrium Health Navicent. Our policies and actions are designed to safeguard our community. We appreciate the community’s cooperation and understanding of our efforts to mitigate the threat of COVID-19.

For the latest information on Atrium Health Navicent’s response to COVID-19, including our visitation policy, please visit www.NavicentHealth.org. Atrium Health Navicent reserves the right to update the visitation policy at any time, based on current COVID-19 conditions.

About Atrium Health Navicent

Atrium Health Navicent is the leading provider of healthcare in central and south Georgia and is committed to its mission of elevating health and well-being through compassionate care. Atrium Health Navicent provides high-quality, personalized care in 53 specialties at more than 50 facilities throughout the region. As part of the largest, integrated, nonprofit health system in the Southeast, it is also able to tap into some of the nation’s leading medical experts and specialists with Atrium Health, allowing it to provide the best care close to home – including advanced innovations in virtual medicine and care. Throughout its 125-year history in the community, Atrium Health Navicent has remained dedicated to enhancing health and wellness for individuals throughout the region through nationally recognized quality care, community health initiatives and collaborative partnerships. It is also one of the leading teaching hospitals in the region, helping to ensure viability for rural health care for the next generation. For more information, please visit www.NavicentHealth.org.