Visitor Restrictions to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
Oneida, NY – Effective immediately, Oneida Health is implementing new visitor restrictions for its emergency room, hospital inpatient unit, primary care, specialty care, and Quick Care offices. The newly implemented visitation restrictions represent one of several measures Oneida Health is taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Safety is always one of our top priorities,” said Gene Morreale, President and CEO of Oneida Health. “With the recent spread of the COVID-19 Delta Variant in Madison and Oneida County, reducing unnecessary foot traffic within our facilities is an effective measure to maintain a safe environment for our patients and staff.”
Oneida Health’s current visitation changes include in part:
- No visitors for hospitalized inpatients (Medical Surgical Unit – 4th floor) until further notice
- Only one visitor per patient in the Emergency Room
- No visitors to accompany adult patients during primary care, specialty care, or urgent care office visits, except for instances of pediatric patient visits (17 and under) or those with cognitive impairment
For critically ill and end of life patients, a case-by-case determination will be made regarding visitation. “Restricting visitation is never an easy decision to make,” said Morreale. “Our hope is that it will be short-term. We encourage everyone in the community to do their part by taking sensible safety precautions to reduce their chances of being exposed to COVID-19. This includes wearing a mask when necessary, washing your hands often, social distancing when possible, and getting the vaccine.”
In addition to visitor restrictions, Oneida Health is also increasing its testing for COVID-19. All patients needing hospitalization are now being tested before admission. They are also requiring all elective procedure patients to have a negative COVID-19 test within 5 days their procedure. Previously, only patients with possible symptoms were tested prior to an elective procedure or admission.
For more information on visitor restrictions throughout Oneida Health’s network, please visit oneidahealth.org.
About Oneida Health
Oneida Health serves an area comprised of approximately 29 communities in Madison and western Oneida counties with a population of approximately 100,000. Operated by Oneida Health Systems, Inc, a New York State not-for-profit corporation, the organization includes a 101-bed acute care hospital, emergency department, state of the art surgery center, 160-bed extended-care and short-term rehab facility, primary care offices, internal medicine, comprehensive lab services, home medical equipment, comprehensive imaging services, outpatient therapy, and care specialties in: oncology, cardiology, neurology, podiatry, vascular, sleep, OB/GYN, orthopedics, wound care, GI, pulmonary, and ENT. To learn more about Oneida Health, visit www.oneidahealth.org.