As key indicators for COVID-19, such as hospitalizations, continue to improve in the province and further stabilize in northern Ontario, Temiskaming Hospital will further ease its visitor restrictions allowing for acute care patients to have access to two Designated Care Partners with only one present at a time beginning, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Temiskaming Hospital implemented the second most restrictive stage of its Care Partner Policy on November 30, 2021 because of high COVID-19 levels in the area and at the hospital. Those restrictions allowed for only end-of-life, obstetric, pediatric and certain out-patients to have Designated Care Partners. On February 14, 2022, the hospital removed Care Partner restrictions for Long-Term Care patients, allowing two Designated Care Partners with only one present at a time. General visitation is still on hold.

“With provincial health care indicators continuing to improve and indicators levelling out in the district, we continue to cautiously lift previous visitor restrictions.” said President & CEO, Mike Baker. He continued, “Putting visitor restrictions into place is a very challenging decision as we know how important of a role mental health plays on patient outcomes, so we are happy to announce the lifting of additional restrictions on Tuesday with further easing of restrictions coming in the near future, if conditions continue to improve.”

Previous care partner visitations for long-term care, palliative, obstetrical and pediatric patients are still in place. Care partners are also allowed to accompany outpatients who need support due to physical, intellectual, cognitive and emotional conditions or needing a substitute decision-maker while attending the hospital for appointments, tests, procedures or emergent care.

Care partners will need to show proof of vaccination and identification prior to entering the facility. Proof of third dose required by March 14, 2022. Consideration may be made for care partner vaccine exceptions in the following instances:

  • Patients who are near end-of-life.
  • Patients admitted to obstetrics.
  • Pediatric/Adolescent <16 years of age.
  • Patients who may be experiencing a mental health crisis, or who have a significant development or intellectual delay (ex: dementia, inability to effectively communicate).

All Designated Care Partners must pass the screening questionnaire administered by the hospital’s Screening Agents prior to entering the hospital.

“We continue to analyze key COVID-19 indicators and adjust our policies as we can,” said Baker. “The Omicron variant has made an unprecedented virus even more difficult to deal with and we have come through this in much better shape than would have otherwise been the case, because of our dedicated team at the Hospital and because of your support!”

The team at Temiskaming Hospital continue to meet weekly to evaluate policies, while ensuring patients’ health and well-being are at the forefront of every decision.