HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Huntsville Hospital and Decatur Morgan Hospital have updated their safety policies for visitors and patients due to COVID-19.
In order to ensure the health and safety of everyone at the hospitals, the following safety checks will done at the entrances:
- Limiting visitors inside our facilities to one support person per patient.
- The support person will get a COVID-19 screening including a temperature check, as does the hospital staff. A temperature reading of 100.4 degrees or higher means you cannot come inside.
- Support persons must wear a mask or other appropriate face covering, observe social distancing and sanitize their hands frequently.
- Employees are required to wear a mask at all times in the facilities, unless eating at a safe distance from others.
The hospitals will also be implementing the following sanitation protocols:
- The Environmental Services (EVS) team follows CDC guidelines and protocols that are approved by Huntsville Hospital’s Infection Control physicians and specialists.
- For infection prevention the cleaning protocols keep rooms and surfaces disinfected and sanitized from bacteria, viruses and germs.
- This rigorous cleaning takes time: more than 40 minutes for a standard 250-square-foot patient room.
- All high-touch surfaces such as bed rails, tray tables, TV remotes, light switches and bathroom faucets are cleaned with a hospital-grade disinfectant, manufacturer-certified to kill all germs and viruses, including coronavirus.
- Rooms and bathrooms are dusted, mopped, wiped down and disinfected from the ceiling to the floor.
- Color-coded cleaning cloths – blue for patient rooms, yellow for bathrooms – help prevent cross-contamination. Different mop heads are used for the bedroom and bathroom.
- New sanitized cloths are used in each room.
- Operating rooms are cleaned and disinfected after each surgery and then disinfected at the end of the day with a 27-step checklist.
- Designated isolation rooms are given a special deep cleaning that takes 58 minutes, on average.
The following social distancing measures will be in place to help prevent the virus' spread:
- Waiting areas and cafeterias were modified to promote social distancing and reduce capacity.
- Signs posted near elevators encourage fewer people on elevators together.
- Telehealth appointment options are available with physicians at Huntsville Hospital Heart Center, Spine & Neuro Center and some Huntsville Hospital Physician Network offices.
Additionally, the following limitations will be placed on support persons:
- Must be at least 16 years old.
- Must be temperature tested and screened when entering a facility.
- Must wear a mask or other appropriate face covering, observe social distancing and sanitize their hands frequently.
- Adult patients may have 1 support person.
- Adult surgery patients who need to stay overnight may have 1 support person after the patient is moved to their hospital room.
- For end-of-life care, a patient may have up to 2 support persons. For COVID-19 patients, support persons are required to wear personal protective equipment.
- In the Pediatric ICU, Pediatric ER, Neonatal ICU and Pediatrics Unit, patients may have 2 parents/caregivers with 1 person at a time allowed at the bedside.
- In Labor & Delivery, Mother Baby, Antepartum and the OB Emergency Department, patients may have 1 support person.
- Parents may escort pediatric surgery patients into Pre-Op and then must wait in their vehicle during the procedure. Following surgery, parents will be called when they can join their child in the recovery area.
To find out more, click here to see the safety protocols for the Huntsville Hospital and click here to see the safety protocols for the Decatur Morgan Hospital.
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