OhioHealth Allowing Patient to Designate a Single Visitor Due to Rise in COVID-19 Cases

Kenton, Ohio Following the recent community surge of COVID-19 cases, OhioHealth announced that patients will be allowed to designate a single visitor for inpatient for the duration of their stay starting August 31.

Patients in emergency, medical practice, surgery, and outpatient infusion/radiation oncology space remain unchanged with one visitor allowed. The new visitor policy will go into effect August 31, at midnight.

.Designated visitor may enter and exit the hospital as needed and stay overnight if clinically appropriate.

.Outpatients will continue to follow the outpatient exception policy

.Patients receiving behavioral healthcare will continue with current scheduled visitation process.

.OhioHealth Physician Group remains one visitor.

Requirements for visitors include:

.Visitor must be ASYMPTOMATIC, wear masks and pass screenings.

.Visitor must be 18 years and older unless they are a parent of a patient.

Limited exceptions include:

.Caretaker: Visitor acting as a CARETAKER for a patient that is:

.Confirmed by clinical team a caretaker is currently required to support patient care.

.Dependent on caretaker prior to admission to perform tasks of basic activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, toileting and communication.

.Disoriented (e.g. traumatic brain injury, dementia, Alzheimer’s, altered mental state)

.Disabled (e.g. developmentally, hearing, autistic, etc.)

.In need of an interpreter.

.Patients receiving end-of-life care: Hospice/end-of-life patients may have up to three visitors at any given time, and no maximum number of visitors per day.

.Patients receiving neonatal, pediatric, adolescent care: Minor patients may have two parents or guardians visit.

.Maternity patients: Patients receiving maternity care are limited to two support persons.

.One of the support persons may stay overnight.

.Doulas are permitted, during labor and delivery, in addition to the two designated support persons.

.If the patient is a minor, patient may have both parents/guardians in addition to the other parent of the baby.

.Care sites with NICUs will follow Nationwide Children’s Hospital visitor management policy.

.Special Circumstance: Determined by clinical team