Essentia Health lifts hospital visitation restrictions

BRAINERD — Essentia Health announced on Tuesday, June 6, it will remove set visitor hours and lift limits on the number of hospital visitors.

Family and other support people play a vital role in the care and well-being of patients, and the updated guidelines reflect the importance of visitors, Essentia Health stated in a news release.

The new guidelines include removing set visitor hours in hospitals and welcoming guests anytime a patient wants to receive them.

Essentia Health stated people who are sick or have a contagious condition should not visit. Children younger than 16, should be accompanied by an adult. Essentia reported it reserved the right to determine if other situations make it necessary to limit visitation.

Certain departments, such as the emergency departments, behavioral health units, surgical and procedural areas and neonatal intensive care units will continue following specific guidelines, Essentia Health said.

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"We will encourage care teams to make decisions based on their patients’ needs or current circumstances," Essentia Health said in the statement. "Visitors who are interfering with the work of our care teams may be asked to leave regardless of these guidelines."

Visitors for COVID-19 patients will be required to continue wearing N95 masks and follow proper hand hygiene before and after visiting, according to Essentia Health, and younger children who cannot wear N95s should wear a well-fitting level 1 surgical mask instead.

Additional details may be found at essentiahealth.org .

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