APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – ThedaCare is now among the local hospitals restricting visitor access to their hospitals and facilities.
“One central entryway that everyone will be asked to come through, there will be some screening going on to make sure all visitors coming in are healthy,” says Director of Infectious Disease Dr. David Brooks, “One family member or guardian that is essential to their well-being will be allowed to visit with them. We’ll ask that they stay with the patient at all times, either in their room or on that floor. There will be some restrictions on their mobility within the healthcare system to keep everybody safe.”
Hospitals usually see some form of visitor restrictions every year, whether it’s due to influenza or some other common illness. But steps against the spread COVID-19 is a larger-scale response.
“We haven’t had too many pandemics this widespread, so this is something new for all of us,” Brooks tells WTAQ News, “This is on a bigger scale, everybody has had to go to what their pandemic plan looks like – we all have one in place, now we just have to activate it based on the data from what we’re seeing.”
It’s currently unclear how long such restrictions could be in place, but constant communication between health providers and health officials on the state and federal levels will
“We’re going to look at this every week – once we see the number of cases start to come down and we feel it’s safe for both our patients and healthcare workers, it’ll be lifted. But really it’s until further notice at this time,” Brooks says.
As for how to avoid spreading the illness, social distancing is key.
“Distance ourselves from people who may be sick, because it’s spread by droplets within about a six foot radius – people coughing and sneezing, touching something that has recently been contaminated,” Brooks says, “For every pandemic, that first wave is the crucial one. It can either be a very tall curve with lots of people getting sick and more people dying – or a flatter curve, which means less people getting sick.”
Other hospitals implementing similar measures include the HSHS hospitals and Bellin Health facilities in the area:
- HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay
- HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay
- HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital in Green Bay
- HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan
- HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls
- Libertas Treatment Center
- Bellin Hospital in Green Bay
- Bellin Health Oconto Hospital
- Bellin Psychiatric Center in Green Bay
