FAYETTEVILLE – Feb. 19, 2021 – Recognizing that family members are an important part of our patient’s care team, and given that the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the region are trending lower, Cape Fear Valley Health is pleased to reopen its visitation policy. Effective Monday, Feb. 22, Cape Fear Valley Health will allow for one visitor per day for most inpatients. Visitors, or “Care Companions,” must wear masks at all times, and they must wear their masks correctly. 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.
Adult inpatients at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Hoke Hospital, Bladen County Hospital and Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center may have one Care Companion during the hours of noon to 8 p.m. Outpatients at clinics should continue to arrive alone for appointments unless they require a healthcare decision maker or communication assistance.
Other basic restrictions for Care Companions include:
- Must not have tested positive for COVID-19 or been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive within the last 14 days.
- Must be immediate family members or a designated support person who is able to hear all private medical information.
- Must be 16 years old or older, or 18 years old or older for the Behavioral Health Care Inpatient Unit
- Must sanitize hands before and after visitation.
- Must follow all physical distancing and hygiene guidelines
Hospital visitors must stay in the patient’s room during their entire visit, unless they are picking up food from the hospital cafeteria or leaving the hospital for the day. Visitors are not allowed in COVID-19 or isolation rooms. Labor and Delivery patients are allowed one Care Companion who may stay with them overnight and for the duration of their inpatient stay. Credentialed doulas may attend births as a secondary support person, but must leave following delivery. All Care Companions who leave the hospital will not be allowed to return until the next day. If a visitor does not follow all guidelines, they will be asked to leave.
All Cape Fear Valley Emergency Departments continue to not allow Care Companions until a patient is placed in a private treatment room. Visitors to the ED must wait in their vehicles until the patient is in a room.
Some units, such as Cardiac Catheterization, Surgery, or Behavioral Health, may have further guidelines for Care Companions. A complete listing of visitor restrictions and guidelines throughout Cape Fear Valley Health can be found below.
Guidelines
- Care companion (CC) are screened daily for COVID-19 symptoms through a verbal screening when entering the building and they will not be able to stay if they:
- Feel sick.
- Have COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms.
- Tested positive for COVID-19 within the last three weeks.
- Have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last two weeks.
- Have been asked to be on home quarantine or isolation.
- Face masks are required to enter any of our care facilities and expected to be worn at all times. We will provide a mask if needed. Neck gaiters, bandanas and masks with exhalation valves are not permitted to be worn as face coverings at CFV.
- Face masks may be removed for eating and drinking. Please put your face mask back on as soon as you are done.
- If you are eating or drinking and someone enters the room, such as a care team member, you must put your face mask on immediately.
- Follow all physical distancing and hand hygiene guidelines.
- Practice physical distancing (including to the extent possible in the patient’s room).
- Wash hands or use hand sanitizer often, including upon entry or exit from the patient’s room.
- Remain in the patient’s room, except to get food inside the hospital and then return to the room, or to exit for the day.
- If the care companion needs to leave the hospital during their visitation, they may not return on the same day.
- If CC are permitted to rotate, the new care partner may arrive the day after the current care partner exits the hospital (care partners for patients at the end of life may change on the same day).
- Visitation risk level is communicated at front entrances and on digital displays
- If conditions worsen, CFV will initiate and communicate further restrictions, as needed.
- Care companions not adhering to these general guidelines are asked to leave and are not allowed to visit this hospital stay.
ED
The ED allows one Care Companion to be with the patient during the ED once the patient is placed in a room. Please do not delay the care and triage process of the patient. If the patient is admitted, one (1) care companion is allowed to remain with the patient. If the patient is transferred to the observation/inpatient room between 10a-8p, the CC is allowed to go with the patient.
Med-tele/Observation/ICU
Non-COVID
Visiting hours 12p-8p – 1 person/day. If he/she leaves, no additional visitors allowed that day.
COVID
No visitors except EOL (see below)
EOL
Non-COVID
One EOL determination visit is allowed with up to 4 family members. Family designates up to 4 care companions with only 2 at the bedside at the same time for up to 2 hours. A second EOL visit is allowed after MD request with up to 4 family members, designated by the family. There are to be no more than 2 care companions are the bedside at the same time and the 2-hour limit remains. If death is imminent after visitation hours are over (after 8pm), 1 CC may remain with the patient. If this designated CC leaves, the visit is ended. One (1) CC may return the next day between 12-8p if applicable.
COVID
Family designates up to 4 care companions with only 2 at the bedside at the same time with maximum of 1 hour per 2 visitors (total visit time of 2 hours). If greater than 4 family members designated, revert to “relatives of the first degree” – mother/father, sister/brother, son/daughter. Family members complete the COVID visitation form and are required to wear the following PPE – N95, gown, goggles, and gloves.
Outpatient (CVRU)
For emergent cases, 1 care companion. If not during visiting hours, leaves after procedure and returns during designated visiting hours.
OB (L&D and FCCU)
1 care companion is allowed to remain with the laboring patient from beginning of labor until mother discharge from CFV. The care companion is not allowed to leave and if the CC leaves, he/she is not allowed to return.
Doulas are allowed to return and are to present credentials to Resource/Charge RN at admitting desk before entering the unit. The Doula is considered a second support person and is to leave following delivery.
NICU/Peds
- Patients age 17 and younger may have ONE care companion per calendar day who is the patient’s parent or legal guardian.
- Parent may switch off with 2nd parent/legal guardian on the next calendar day.
- If the designated care companion for that calendar day leaves the hospital neither care companion will be allowed to come back and visit until the next calendar day.
DSS involvement
- At any given time, there can be only one person at the infant/patient bedside.
- Only one person per day may visit the infant/patient.
- That may alternate daily between the parent and the TSP (temporary safety person).
- If the DSS case worker comes to see the infant at the same time the parent is here:
- Please ask the parent to wait in the consultation room while the case worker makes the visit.
- When the case worker has left, the parent may return to the bedside.
- When discharging an infant with a TSP,
- The TSP is the one who needs to be the one to complete the discharge education.
- On the day of discharge, the mother is the one to come to the unit to sign necessary paperwork.
- The TSP waits downstairs for the infant to be discharged.
- The nurse walks the mother downstairs with the baby, and the baby is given to the TSP.
Surgery
1 Care companion is allowed to remain with patient from beginning to end of visit. If patient is admitted, the care companion remains in Surgical Waiting room until room assignment and goes with CFV staff to room and adheres to general visitation guidelines.
Exceptions:
Rehabilitation patients requiring one (1) care companion to participate in care training are allowed to visit.
Discharging patients are allowed one (1) care companion to visit before designated visiting hours to receive discharge instructions.
Behavioral Health Inpatient Psychiatric Unit allow one visitor per day for one hour during 7:00 PM—9:00 PM. All visitors are screened daily using the same guidelines as above.
Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital
Patients may have two visitors per day between the hours of Noon and 8 p.m. All visitors be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of vaccination.
As with all other visitors, Highsmith-Rainey visitors must stay in the patient’s room, except to get food inside the hospital and then return to the room, or to exit for the day.