Cape Fear Valley Health Modifies Visitation Policies

FAYETTEVILLE – Aug. 9, 2021 – Due to changes in the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus and the high spread of cases in the community, Cape Fear Valley Health has made modifications to the current visitation policy.

Most Cape Fear Valley Medical Center inpatients, Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center patients, Bladen County Hospital and Hoke Hospital patients may have no more than two visitors from noon and 8 p.m. Visitors must be at least 12 years old, and no more than two visitors at a time are allowed in a patient’s room.

Visitors and patients in all Cape Fear Valley Health facilities and clinics are required to properly wear a mask at all times, with the exception of the HealthPlex facility, which only requires masks for visitors if they have not been fully vaccinated. Masks must remain on at all times, even in patients’ rooms, or the visitor will be asked to leave. Neck gaiters are not permitted. This mask policy will be strictly enforced.

All visitors will be screened with a brief verbal questionnaire and a temperature scan before being allowed entry. Those who refuse to answer the questions or who have a temperature above 100.3 Fahrenheit will be denied entry.

The health system still has some further restrictions in certain parts of the medical center and other locations, as follows:

• Surgery patients will be allowed one visitor in the pre-op area, but two visitors may wait in the surgical waiting room if arriving with the patient. Additionally, surgery patients may have one visitor in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit if they are waiting to be admitted to the hospital. Once a surgery patient has been admitted, two visitors can go with the patient to their room.
• Inpatients awaiting surgery may have the standard number of visitors during visiting hours. Additionally, one support person may stay with the patient overnight and remain until the patient is taken to surgery.
• Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital surgical patients may have one support person, who may wait in the lobby during the procedure.
• In the Emergency Department, one visitor at a time will be allowed once the patient is placed in a room.
• Labor and Delivery patients are allowed only one designated support person, who must be at least 16 years old. No other visitors are allowed. A doula is not allowed unless it is the one support person in the room. Support persons are not allowed to switch with other people, and they cannot leave and return.
• In the Family Centered Care Unit, patients may have only one overnight support person who stays the entire time with the patient and cannot come and go or be changed out with another person. No other visitors are allowed. In the Family Centered Care Nursery (FCCN) only two banded visitors are allowed and they must have their names identified at the security desk. FCCN visitors can visit at any time, but there is no space to allow for overnight stays.
• Pediatrics and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit will allow one overnight parent or guardian at a time, and only two visitors from noon to 8 p.m., as long as there are only two visitors in the room at a time. All visitors to Pediatric units must be 18 or older.
• In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, only two banded visitors are allowed and they must have their names identified at the secretary desk. They can visit at any time, but there is no space to allow for overnight stays.
• Oncology and Oncology clinics will allow up to two visitors at a time, with the exception of the chemotherapy area, where space constraints and immunocompromised patients do not allow for visitation.
• Outpatient clinics and Fayetteville Ambulatory Surgical Center will allow no more than two visitors per patient.
• Cape Fear Valley Behavioral Health Care will allow patients one visitor Mondays through Fridays, from 7-9 p.m. On the weekends, they may have two visitors, one per time slot at 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Once visitors leave the facility, they will not be permitted to return that same day.
• Long-Term Acute Care (LTAC) patients at Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital are allowed two visitors at a time from noon to 8 p.m., but due to the high vulnerability of that hospital’s patient population, all visitors must be able to show proof of vaccination.
• Non-COVID End of Life patients who are actively passing are allowed up to four visitors with two visitors at a time. COVID patients at End of Life are allowed a one (1) time visit for 2 immediate family members only with a maximum time of two (2) hours.
• COVID-19 patients will be allowed two visitors per day from 4-8 p.m., and all visitors must wear the required PPE, including an N95 mask. Visitors to COVID-19 patients will not be allowed to return the same day after they leave.