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Visitor Guidelines Q&A
Visiting a Patient or Attending an Appointment at a Horizon Facility? Here's What you Need to Know!
Q: As a visitor,
what can I expect when I arrive?
A: Patients and designated support
persons will not be permitted to enter without a mask. When you
come to a Horizon facility for an appointment or to visit a loved
one, please wear your own face mask. You will be provided a medical
grade face mask or KN95 during the screening process and asked
to put on this face mask before entering. If you are wearing a
KN95 face mask or N95 respirator, you will
not be asked to change it.
Q: Once I am on a unit to visit a patient, can I remove
my mask?
A: No. All staff and visitors are
required to wear a mask while in Horizon
facilities. In addition to wearing a mask, all visitors must clean
their hands upon entering the facility and during their visit. It
is also important to keep your distance from others and not touch
your face!
Q: Once I am on a unit to visit a
patient, do I have to keep a physical distance from
others?
A:Yes.To protect your health and the
health of your loved one, other visitors and our staff, all
visitors must practice physical distancing when visiting a patient.
This means maintaining two metres or six feet between yourself and
others, including the patient you are visiting. You must limit your
interactions with staff and other patients/visitors.
Q: Can I take my loved one out of
their room during the visit?
A: No. To protect your health and
the health of your loved one, other visitors and our staff, and to
maintain appropriate physical distancing, all visitors must remain
in the patient room. Do not take trips around the unit, go to the
cafeteria, etc.
Q: Can I still feed or hug my
loved one during my visit?
A: No. To protect your health and
that of your loved one, a physical distance of two metres or six
feet between you and your loved one is required at all times during
your visit, even though you are wearing a mask.
Q: How frequently should I clean
my hands?
A: You must clean your hands with
alcohol-based sanitizer often. You must clean your hands when you
enter the facility, before entering a patient room, after touching
shared objects, and upon exiting a patient room. Cleaning your
hands with warm water and soap or alcohol-based sanitizer is the
most effective way to limit the spread of illness. Horizon has
developed online learning opportunities for our community. To
complete the Clean Hands e-learning, click
here.
Q: Why are visiting hours
restricted to 2 to 8 p.m.?
A: Visitor guidelines are in place
to allow loved ones an opportunity to connect in person as we move
through the yellow phase of recovery in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Limiting our visiting hours allows friends and family to visit
loved ones while keeping our vulnerable patients and staff safe by
reducing the number of people entering our facilities each day. We
encourage you to continue to use alternate ways to communicate with
loved ones.
Q: What if a second visitor shows
up and the patient already has a
visitor?
A: If a visitor arrives and the
patient already has a visitor, one visitor is required to leave the
facility and return when there is no visitor with the patient. To
reduce the risk of this happening, we encourage
families to work together and plan their
visits.
Q: Where can I go when I leave
the room for the patient to have a
procedure?
A: Visitors will be asked to leave
the facility when the patient is having a procedure. You can leave
your phone number with the patient and they can contact you when
the procedure is complete. A member of the health care team may be
able to suggest a better time to visit the patient.
Q: Can a patient who requires
assistance following a procedure have a support person or will the
health care team provide that support?
A: It is best to contact your
health care team to verify if a support person is permitted
or necessary for specific circumstances.
Q: Can chaplains have visiting privileges
restored?
A: Patients may welcome
one healthy visitor at a time. Palliative care
patients may have two visitors at a time, and
those receiving end-of-life care may have one
additional visitor, such as a chaplain or spiritual care worker to
provide comfort to the patient, family and loved ones during the
end-of-life period.
Q: Can I visit a patient awaiting
swab results for COVID-19 or who has tested positive for
COVID-19?
A: No.
Q: Can I wear my community face mask or cloth
facial covering into a room to visit a patient who is
under Isolation Precautions?
A: No. You will be provided a medical
grade face mask or KN95 during the screening process and asked to
put on this face mask before entering. If you are wearing a
KN95 face mask or N95 respirator, you will not be
asked to change it. Patients under isolation precautions require
individuals entering the patient room to wear a medical grade face
mask and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Before you visit a
patient under isolation precautions, you must STOP and request
assistance from a health care worker on the patient care unit
before entering the patient's room. The health care worker will
assist and provide you with the appropriate type of PPE required to
keep you and the patient safe. This will include instruction of how
to put on and take off PPE.
Outpatients and Clinics
Q: With the new guidelines, can
patients bring a support person to X-ray or ultrasound
appointments?
A: No. For the safety of patients
and staff, only patients requiring assistance (i.e.: mobility
issues, dementia, mental health condition, child, etc.) can have a
support person in Outpatient Departments at this time.
Q: Why can't patients bring a
support person to appointments?
A: This precaution is in place to
limit the number of people in our facilities and ensure that we
maintain the necessary physical distancing between patients in our
small waiting rooms.
Q: Can adult patients bring their
children with them to appointments?
A: No. Adult patients attending
appointments should arrange childcare to limit the child's
potential exposure to illness and reduce the number of people in
our facilities.
Q: What is the policy when
attending the Emergency Department (ED)? If someone goes by
ambulance, will their loved one be able to go to the ED to be with
them?
A: For the safety of patients and
staff, a support person is only permitted for pediatric patients or
patients requiring assistance (i.e.: mobility issues, dementia, mental
health condition, etc.) in the Emergency Department. If a loved one
is admitted to an inpatient unit in the hospital, one healthy
visitor is permitted to visit between 2 and 8 p.m.
daily.
Q: Are dialysis patients allowed
to a have a visitor?
A: For the safety of patients and
staff, a support person is only permitted for pediatric patients or
patients requiring additional assistance (i.e.: mobility issues,
dementia, mental health condition, etc.).
Q: What determines if a patient requires
additional assistance or a support
person?
A: Here are some examples of when a
patient may require additional
assistance:
- mobility issues (difficulty walking)
- dementia condition where a support person may be required to provide health information
- autism
- a serious mental health condition
If you still have questions, it is best
to contact your health care team to verify if a
support person is permitted for specific circumstances.
Labour & Birth and Postpartum
Q: Are
spouses allowed to attend prenatal ultrasounds if they wear a
mask?
A: For the safety of patients and staff,
only patients requiring assistance (i.e.: mobility issues,
dementia, mental health condition, etc.) can have a support person
in Outpatient Departments at this time.
Q: Can patients bring a partner
or support person to prenatal
appointments?
A: For the safety of patients and
staff, only patients requiring assistance (i.e.: mobility issues,
dementia, mental health condition, etc.) can have a support person
in Outpatient Departments at this time.
Q: Can patients have a visitor in Labour and Birth or
after they have a baby?
A: Patients can welcome one healthy visitor in
the facility at a time, between 2 and 8 p.m. This
means if the patient has a support person with them, the support
person would have to leave the facility to allow for an alternate
person to visit.
Q: How does this affect visiting
a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NNICU)?
A: NNICU patients may have
one visitor at a time, and visitors are limited to
close family members only. At this time, only one parent at a time
may visit. Visiting hours may be adjusted for labour and birth and
postpartum patients.
Q: Can both parents attend
children's doctors' appointments?
A: Only one support
person for children is permitted in Outpatient Departments at this
time.
More information on visitor guidelines can be found here.