New visitation guidelines for all Northeast Georgia Health Systems facilities will take effect on Monday, having been determined by system officials earlier this week.
Limited visitation will be allowed for patients who have tested negative for COVID-19, with officials now allowing one visitor over the age of 16 between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. every day.
Visitors will be required to wear an approved face mask in order to gain entrance to a facility. According to a new set of guidelines posted to the NGHS website, acceptable masks include "cloth masks, paper masks, surgical masks, N95 masks, masks WITHOUT exhalation valves or vents."
Tight restrictions remain in place for visitors who have tested positive for COVID-19. Starting Monday, a potential visitor, who must be a family member, will be required to schedule an appointment for clinical care coordination, communication and discharge planning support.
Upon entering a facility, visitors will also be required to sign a liability waiver.
"[After] arriving at your loved one’s unit, go directly to the nurse’s station to present your signed COVID-19 risk waiver that you received at the screening station. This waiver confirms that you are aware of and assume the risk of contracting COVID-19 while in our facility," the NGHS guidelines state. "We strongly encourage no visitors over the age of 70 and no visitors with chronic conditions such as lung or heart disease, as these persons have a higher risk of complications if they contract COVID-19."
A separate set of restrictions have been created for some of the facilities, including patients in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as Pediatric patients, Labor and Delivery patients and Long-term expectant mothers.
For a full outline of the new NGHS guidlines, visit their website here.
