Health System restricts visitors further to protect patients and staff

Jackson, Tennessee (March 19, 2020) - In our continued efforts to prevent the spread of illness of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and to protect our patients and healthcare workers, effective immediately, we are prohibiting visitors in our inpatient facilities with limited exceptions.

NO visitors will be permitted to our inpatient facilities. The only exceptions will be:

• One parent or legal guardian of the patient who is a minor.

• Obstetric patients may have one support person to accompany them.

• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients may have two parents who must remain in the room the duration of the visit.

• Patients at end-of-life may have a very limited number of visitors who must remain in the room for the duration of the visit.

• Patients undergoing surgery or procedures may have one visitor before and immediately after the procedure/surgery.

• If a single, approved designated visitor meets an exception, this individual must be determined at the time of hospitalization and may not be changed during hospital stay.

“We continue to evaluate our visitation policies in an abundance of caution to do what is best for all those we care for,” stated James Ross, President and Chief Executive Officer.

To limit the spread of infectious disease, approved visitors will still be asked questions, to understand if they are experiencing any symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath. Visitors exhibiting flu-like symptoms will be prohibited from visiting patients.

We understand that this may be difficult for visitors and patients, but these changes have been implemented to protect the wellbeing of all of our patients, providers and staff, which is our top priority.

We reserve the right to further restrict visitation to our facilities as the situation changes. We are also coordinating our activities with our local health department directors and will follow guidance from them if they direct us to take additional actions that they deem necessary to protect the health of the public.

We will continue to provide updates as we receive them. Follow us on social media or visit www.wth.org for updates.

About West Tennessee Healthcare:

West Tennessee Healthcare is a public, not-for-profit healthcare system with locations serving 19 counties in West Tennessee and Southeast Missouri. The mission of West Tennessee Healthcare is to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve while providing exceptional and compassionate care. For more information, visit www.wth.org.