Touchette hospital announces restrictions amid coronavirus spread
Another hospital in the metro-east has announced it will restrict visitors amid spread of the coronavirus in Illinois.
Touchette Regional Hospital said in a news release Wednesday that it would limit visitors inside the hospital and at its Archview Medical Center, effective immediately. The restrictions are in place “until further notice.”
According to the release, patients admitted to the hospital, the Women and Newborns Center or outpatient surgery will be allowed one visitor, and visitors for hospice patients will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
There will be no visitors allowed for other outpatient services at the hospital, Archview Medical Center or in the emergency department. The medical staff will collect a phone number from the patient’s family and notify when a patient is ready to be picked up.
Visitors to the hospital will also undergo a health and travel screening, but those who are exhibiting signs of illness, including the COVID-19 symptoms of coughing, fever and shortness of breath, will not be permitted, the release stated. However, visitors under the age of 18 will not be allowed.
Another metro-east hospital, Anderson Hospital in Madison County, announced Monday it was restricting visitors to its women’s obstetrics unit, limiting only one support visitor per person. That support person must be the only support person throughout the stay, and grandparents and siblings are not allowed. The hospital called the guidelines temporary.
On Tuesday, several regional hospitals , including Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Barnes-Jewish in St. Louis and Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, announced similar restrictions due to the spread of the virus.
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