Prisma Health eases COVID-19 visitation restrictions
Beginning Sept. 1, Prisma Health will allow limited visitation for patients, the health system announced Friday.
Inpatients who are not diagnosed with COVID-19 or suspected of having it, emergency department patients, obstetric patients and behavioral health patients will be allowed to designate one person as a “care partner.”
Most care partners will only be allowed to leave and return to the hospital once every 24 hours. Care partners for emergency room patients will be allowed to do so once every 12 hours.
Visitors will be screened upon entering and must wear a mask throughout the visit. They must remain in the patient’s room and will not be allowed to visit the food court or other public spaces. Most visitations will take place between 2 and 6 p.m.
“Being with a loved one is, in itself, a healing therapy, and Prisma Health looks forward to offering expanded visitation for designated care partners next week,” said Dr. Scott Sasser in a statement. Sasser oversees Prisma Health’s COVID-19 response.
“Throughout the pandemic, our team members have worked hard to make virtual visits — using digital devices such as iPads — possible for families who have been unable to visit their patients for in-person visits, and we will continue to do so,” Sasser said. “Since this pandemic likely will be with us into the near future, we ask our communities’ continued patience as we strive to provide extraordinary care under challenging circumstances.”
Prisma limited visitation at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Aug. 28, more than 114,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for the virus, while more than 2,600 have died.
Visitors will still be prohibited from seeing patients diagnosed with COVID-19 except for end-of-life situations. Up to three care partners are allowed to visit COVID-19 patients in that scenario.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 11:51 AM.
