Visitor restrictions have been in place at the Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) since March 19th, following the direction of the Ministry of Health. While we know these restrictions have been difficult on patients and their loved ones they were put in place to ensure the continued safety of all patients, staff and physicians. As part of our planned recovery and resumption of services plan; we have developed a staged approach for the reintroduction of inpatient visitation. We know that visitors, whether they be family or friends, are essential care partners and their presence is crucial to providing compassionate and quality care to our patients. While we look to increase visitation the continued safety of our patients, visitors, staff and physicians remains our primary focus. We must also recognize that there are limiting factors that we must carefully monitor for safety including the regional rate of COVID-19, and our PPE supply.
Current inpatient visitation includes:
1) One (1) parent/care giver for each admitted child
2) One (1) spouse/partner will be permitted on the Maternity unit, with the Mother, at time of delivery and will be permitted to remain on the unit as long as they do not leave
3) One (1) support person for end of life and palliative patients
4) Other compassionate exceptional requests
In addition to the above, effective Sunday, June 28, 2020, TADH will be expanding visitor access for inpatients with the following considerations and precautions:
• Patients will be able to receive up to two (2) visits per week for up to one (1) hour for each visit.
• Patients may choose up to two (2) designated visitors, over the age of 16, who will be scheduled for alternating visits.
• To ensure the safety of all patients, visitors, staff and physicians the hospital may be unable to facilitate visits for certain patients.
• To ensure the safety of all patients, visitors, staff and physicians the hospital will be:
a. Scheduling all one (1) hour visitations in advance and not permitting walk-in visitation at this time;
b. Scheduling visitation to allow for physical distancing to be maintained in Hospital; and
c. Ensuring that there is only one (1) visitor scheduled per patient room at a time.
• Calls to designated visitors will be made between the hours of 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. to schedule a visit.
Your care team will reach out to you to obtain the name of your designated visitors. Your care team will be able to answer any questions you may have about visitation at that time.
Please ensure your visitor(s) are informed of the following requirements:
• Visits must be pre-scheduled for up to one (1) hour and will occur during the site’s visiting hours: 1:30 PM to 6:30 P.M.
• Screening of all visitors is required, including assessment for symptoms or known exposure to COVID- 19, prior to entry. No visitor will be permitted visitation if they have travelled outside of Ontario in the past 14 days. No visitor shall be permitted if they have any cold/flu or other COVID-19 symptoms. Please self-screen prior to coming to hospital using the screening tool found here:
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/severe-symptoms
• All designated visitors must comply with Infection Prevention and Control measures. This includes strict hand hygiene and maintaining physical distancing (6 feet/2 metres apart) at all times.
• All designated visitors must wear a mask prior to arriving at TADH and for the duration of the visit. Medical Personal Protective Equipment may be required at the direction of the care team. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Designated visitors will be asked to sign in and sign out at the time of their visit(s) at the front entrance only.
• Visitors must arrive no more than 10 minutes before their visitation. You may be asked to wait in your car until your scheduled visitation time.
• Visitors must remain in the patient room only; access to the coffee shop, patient and unit washrooms and other patient rooms will not permitted.
TADH continues to work closely with public health officials to monitor the impact of COVID-19. Adjustments to inpatient visitation may be required in response to future COVID-19 needs. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience throughout this pandemic.
