Effective immediately and until further notice, Interior Health is limiting the number of visitors entering Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital to essential visits only.
Read the latest here: COVID-19
This action applies to all IH sites, which locally, includes Kiro Wellness Centre, Columbia View Lodge and Poplar Ridge Pavilion.
Essential visits include, but are not limited to:
• Visits for compassionate care, for example, end of life and critical illness.
• Visits considered paramount to patient/client care and well being (caregivers and support persons), such as assistance with feeding or mobility.
To further limit the number of people entering sites at this time, the same caregiver or support person should attend each essential visit whenever possible.
This decision supports the province-wide response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and reflects the provincial state of emergency.
By press time on Tuesday, there were 472 cases in B.C., specifically 30 in Interior Health, 248 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 150 in Fraser Health, 39 in Island Health, and five in Northern Health.
Understandably, the Trail Times has received numerous inquiries about why the public hasn’t been told if someone has tested positive in the city.
Of note, is that the province will not mention which city/town a COVID-19 patient lives in/tested positive in unless it is a cluster or outbreak.
This is due to privacy laws.
In short, however, the provincial health officer is urging all British Columbians, in all communities, to take action and to assume COVID-19 may be circulating within their community – whether they believe there has been a positive case or not.
These measures include: stay home whenever possible; practise social distancing when this is not possible; cough or sneeze into your elbow; stay home especially when you are sick; and if you need medical attention, please call ahead before going to hospital or your health-care provider.
The restriction of visits now in place in all IH facilities is a measure keep patients, individuals in care, families and health-care workers safe.
It also aligns with the Provincial Health Officer’s recommendations for social distancing.
Interior Health is working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control in this effort to flatten the curve of the pandemic.
Patient navigators will be at entrances of all facilities to ensure visitors are aware of the new restrictions.
As always, visitors are reminded to keep the following in mind:
• People experiencing fever, cough, runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, and/or diarrhea must not visit any IH facility.
• Anyone who has travelled outside of Canada in the previous 14 days must not visit patients/residents in any IH facility.
• Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (or who has been in contact with a person infected with COVID-19) during the previous 14 days must not visit patients/residents in any IH facility.
IH says it understands the importance of visits from family and loved ones to our patients and long- term care residents and appreciates everyone’s support in keeping patients, families, and health-care workers, safe.
newsroom@trailtimes.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter