St. Mary’s increases number and frequency of visitors for inpatients
St. Mary’s will be increasing the number and frequency of visitors for inpatients starting this weekend. This will be a significant benefit to patients and families and will more closely align with other area hospitals, as well as our policy for patients receiving critical care.
Effective Saturday, July 17, inpatients will be able to receive one visitor once per day for one hour. Two designated visitors will be allowed to alternate visits.
In June, we spoke to one of our very own staff members, Nicole—an RN who works in the MSICU—about when she was hospitalized in the ICU last year. Her partner Adam also spoke about what it was like as a family member who wasn’t able to see his loved one. If you missed their story, please watch it here
In light of the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant in Waterloo Region, St. Mary’s continues to enforce COVID-19 safety protocols to reduce transmission. In late May, however, the province’s Science Table stated the following:
“Available research suggests that family/essential caregivers do not play a substantial role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, an extensive body of literature demonstrates that family/essential caregivers are important in the delivery of patient-centred care.”