Public Notice – March 27, 2020
Labrador-Grenfell Health is advising the public that service capacity will continue to gradually increase within Alert Level 2, including access for designated visitors within our hospitals and long-term care homes.
The following changes will be implemented beginning March 27, 2021:
Visitor Guidelines
Guidelines remain in place to reduce risk of possible spread of COVID-19 to patients, residents and staff, including:
- For Long-Term Care – in addition to any support person/designated visitor identified previously, each resident can identify up to five additional visitors. The resident’s visitor list can be updated every 14 days. A maximum of two people can visit per day, including the support person/designated visitor and two may visit at the same time.
- Visits must be coordinated in advance by contacting the home.
- For Inpatients – in addition to any previously identified support person/designated visitor, each patient can identify up to five additional visitors. A maximum of two people can visit per day including the support person; one at a time. Please contact the care team to arrange visitation.
- For Obstetrical patients – expecting mothers can have one support person during the delivery. The support person can continue to support the mother for the duration of the time in hospital and there are no restrictions on the number of visits per day. Additionally, four other visitors are permitted after delivery with visits coordinated by the care team.
- For Pediatric patients – children can have both parents visit at the same time and there are no restrictions on the number of visits for per day.
- For outpatient appointments and Emergency Department visits – individuals may be accompanied by one person where appropriate physical spacing can be accommodated. If the patient is 18 years of age and under, they may have two parents accompany them. Wherever possible, patients are asked to carefully consider the necessity of an attendee when visiting the Emergency Department.
- For Palliative Care – The guidelines for palliative care can vary and are assessed on a case-by case basis. Directions for visiting will be provided by the health care team.
- All visitors will be screened for COVID-19 and be provided a mask, which they must wear for the duration of their visit.
- General visitation is not permitted at this time.
For more details, the complete guidelines for support persons/designated visitors here.
Individuals with questions or concerns regarding a change in their health are advised to contact their health care provider, call the Healthline at 811, or proceed to the nearest emergency room if emergency services are required. Individuals with questions or concerns may also contact our Client Relations office at 1-(833) 505-1178 or client.relations@lghealth.ca.
Anyone experiencing one or more symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to complete the online self-assessment and referral tool at http://www.811healthline.ca or call the NL Health Line 8-1-1 to arrange testing.
Everyone has an important role to play in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The public is reminded that the best defense against COVID-19 is maintaining physical distancing, practicing hand hygiene, staying home and seeking a test when sick, and consistently wearing a mask.
More information about COVID-19 can be found on the province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s website www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19 and on the Labrador-Grenfell Health webpage www.lghealth.ca/covid-19.
Labrador-Grenfell Health would like to thank the public for their co-operation during these precautionary measures.
Media Contact:
Amanda MacNeil
Regional Director of Communications, Labrador-Grenfell Health