Staff Reports
GREENFIELD — Hancock Regional Hospital will all but end face-to-face patient visitation starting Monday, March 30, but is putting in place an online hotspot in its valet parking area so loved ones can visit by video.
The new restrictions — coming on top of those that already had strictly limited patient visits — are in line with those taking place elsewhere as communities begin to see the COVID-19 infection rate rise. A “very small number” of exceptions — such as for births or deaths — will be made, CEO Steve Long wrote in a post on the Hancock Health website.
To make up for the restrictions, the hospital worked with NineStar Connect to install a special WiFi booster near the hospital’s main entrance. Visitors who can’t already visit via FaceTime, Skype or other video links will be able to use an iPad handed out in the valet area under the canopy to visit with their loved ones from the hospital parking lot, Long said.
Here is how the process will work:
Beginning today (March 28), families may call the hospital at 317-468-4800 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. to schedule an e-visit.
At the appointed time, visitors will pull into the valet parking area in front of the hospital’s main entrance. A staff member will bring the visitor an iPad, and a nurse will bring another iPad to the patient. The devices will be set up for the virtual visit.
E-visits for families are 15 minutes long and will take place from 2-4 p.m. Pastoral care visits are also 15 minutes and are available from 4-5 p.m.
At a time of enforced isolation for everyone’s safety, Hancock Health officials wanted to be sure patients still could get the support they need.
“We know that patients do better in the hospital when they’re visited by family and friends,” said Adam Wilhelm, director of nursing administration. “Being able to see a friendly face or talk to a loved one can make a big difference in their care.”
Long said family interaction with their loved ones’ care teams — often a part of family members’ in-person visits — will be more complicated. But physicians and nurses still will be available for consultation by phone or other means, he said.
