Spectrum Health has announced new visitor restrictions. The move comes following an increase in the number of patients admitted with COVID-19. Visitor policies are being revised to reduce the number of people in its Grand Rapids and regional hospitals and outpatient care sites.
“Our hospitals feel as though they’re in a crisis from a bed capacity perspective. And so, in line with that, knowing how many people we already have in the buildings, we are implementing visitor restrictions, not only to preserve visitation for loved ones, but also to restrict unnecessary visitation.”
Chad Tuttle is the senior Vice President of Hospital Operations at Spectrum Health. He says due to their increasing numbers of patients admitted with COVID-19 and the increase in community positivity rate, Spectrum has to announce visitor restrictions starting today.
“We are definitely seeing an increase in the community in a variety of numbers. Certainly, the community positivity, our seven-day average of positive tests is at 12.5 percent and climbing. Our number of in patients is at 164 and rapidly rising.”
Tuttle says visitor restrictions are not as tight as they were the first time around when COVID struck last year, but they are in effect. In many cases patients will be allowed only one adult visitor, two in some cases like with pediatric patients and labor and delivery-even COVID patients can have a visitor.
“This time around, if folks are positive with COVID 19, we are restricting those patients to a single adult visitor, but are allowing a visitor. We recognize visitors do play an important part in the healing process, so we definitely want to keep visitors here.”
Tuttle says they’re hoping no further restrictions will be required. He says they are watching COVID-19 closely. Adding they’re hoping once we get through this surge they can relax the restrictions once again. But for now, it is the safest precaution.