Boone Health updates visitor policy as COVID hospitalizations decline
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone Health will allow COVID-19-negative patients to have two visitors a day instead of one starting Tuesday, a sign of easing strain on hospitals that had been pushed to the brink by omicron.
Visitors must be at least 16 years old and will be required to undergo a health screening when they enter the hospital. Masks and social distancing are still required in the hospital.
Boone Health said in a news release that it will continue to monitor and update visitor policies as COVID data allows. The change is due to a decrease in the local rate of positive COVID-19 tests. That rate was at 12.65% to end last week, according to the Columbia/Boone County health department. The rate peaked at more than 70% last month.
"Boone Health recognizes that receiving visitors can make a significant difference for our patients," the news release said.
Data from the Department of Health and Senior Services shows hospitalizations have decreased since the omicron peak in late January. Hospitalizations have also fallen, though deaths remain at their highest since last winter, before vaccines were widely available, nationwide and in Missouri.
Boone County's hospital stress indicator went into the green last week after spending most of the pandemic in the yellow or red levels. The green indicator means hospitals are operating within their normal capacity, whereas the yellow and red indicators show delayed procedures and transfers because of a high patient load.
In an interview with ABC 17 News, Dr. Robin Blount, chief medical officer at Boone Health, said having a loved one around makes patients feel better and they can help with managing treatment.
"A lot of our patients may be elderly or they may be on medications that might make it hard for them to remember what somebody said," Blount said. "And so having somebody around to also hear what the doctor or the nurses are saying ... really helps with the management of the patient and satisfaction of the families and patient."
Check back for updates to this developing story and watch ABC 17 News at 5 and 6.
