Midlands hospital changes visitor policies due to rising COVID cases across SC

Lexington Medical Center is revising its visitation policies in response to rising COVID-19 cases across the Midlands and in effort to limit the spread of the virus.

Starting Aug. 9, only one visitor will be allowed to visit a non-COVID patient in the hospital’s emergency room and urgent care centers. If the lobby reaches capacity, visitors won’t be allowed to stay with patients.

Visitors must stay in the patient’s exam room at all times and may help settle the patient into his or her inpatient room if admitted.

Visitors must wear masks at all times, including when inside a patient’s room.

For non-COVID-19 inpatients, only one visitor will be allowed to see a patient per day between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and must enter through the main entrance or south entrance.

Only one visitor is allowed in the lobby during the time during inpatient and outpatient surgeries and procedures. The visitor may help settle the patient into his or her room if admitted to the hospital and should use the main entrance.

For births, a spouse or support person will be allowed to be in the delivery room and special care nursery and must wear an infant identification bracelet. One separate visitor will be allowed to visit the baby unit or mother between the revised visitation hours. Visitors must enter through the main entrance only.

The country is currently seeing a third wave of COVID cases during the pandemic due to the highly contagious delta variant.

The U.S. leads all other nations in COVID-related infections and death toll. South Carolina alone has seen more than 630,000 cases and nearly 10,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic began. With just 40% of the state’s population fully vaccinated, health officials are urging people to the COVID vaccine to help limit the spread of the virus and to protect themselves.

Hospitals across S.C. are reporting that a total of 8,741 inpatient beds are currently being used and are at 77.5% capacity, according to data from the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Another 71.5% of the ICU beds are being used, nearly 27% of which are being taken up by COVID-19 patients.

The overwhelming majority of COVID patients being seen in hospitals are unvaccinated, officials say.

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 4:14 PM.

Andrew Caplan

The State

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Andrew Caplan is a watchdog journalist who hails from Florida. He comes to The State Media Company after winning several statewide awards for investigations on elected officials and government entities. He holds a master’s degree from the University of South Florida.