(File Photo)
Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 7:00 AM
(PITTSBURGH, PA.) – In response to the once again surging COVID-19 pandemic across the communities of western Pennsylvania, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) officials announced the reinstatement of temporary restrictions on patient visitation at its hospitals to help further protect patients and caregivers.
Effective immediately, and until further notice, AHN is allowing just one inpatient visitor in its facilities per day during regular hospital visitation hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The patient’s visitor/support person cannot change throughout the day. Clergy visitation is also permitted in addition to the one support person.
Some exceptions to the temporary patient visitation policy may be made for those in the following areas or special circumstances:
- Labor and Delivery
- Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU)
- Pediatrics
- End of Life Care
- Emergency Department
- Surgery, outpatient diagnostic and ambulatory services
- Patients who have an intellectual, developmental, or cognitive disability, communication barrier, or behavioral concerns or those with a physical disability
- Patients being discharged to help receive discharge instructions
Visitors to any AHN facility must be age 18 or older and will be asked to present a valid identification upon entering. Visitors will also continue to be screened for associated COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival and must always wear a mask.
“With the emergence of the highly infectious Delta and Omicron variants, COVID-19 is once again spreading rapidly throughout every community we serve and filling our hospital beds,” said Brian Parker, MD, AHN’s Chief Quality & Learning Officer. “It is essential that we continue to take every measure that we can to protect our patients and caregivers from this virus, and we greatly appreciate the support and cooperation of our patients’ loved ones with those efforts, including limited visitation privileges at this time.”
Digital channels such as FaceTime and Snapchat are being recommended as options for remotely connecting with loved ones during their stay at the network’s hospitals.
AHN also asks individuals who may be sick themselves, including those experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, or sore throat, to not visit its facilities unless they are seeking medical treatment, while reminding facility visitors that the best way to prevent the spread of illness is appropriate hand washing and sanitizing when entering and exiting patient rooms.
Dr. Parker stressed the need for more people to be vaccinated so that future surges of the pandemic can be avoided.
“The single most important thing that we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones from COVID-19 is to be fully vaccinated,” said Dr. Parker. “Currently the vast majority who are getting sick and being hospitalized because of this virus are the unvaccinated. Low vaccination rates are also contributing to the development of increasingly transmissible variants like Delta and Omicron and preventing us from bringing this pandemic to an end.”
Information about access to COVID vaccinations at AHN can be found at https://www.ahn.org/