Coronavirus (COVID-19)

• Can I still visit someone in the hospital?

  Visitor access has changed:

  We have reduced restrictions for visiting. We will now allow one essential visitor for certain categories of patients (see chart below). Visitors will be screened upon arrival and those who fail the screening will not be permitted to enter.
  
  Guidelines for patients who are eligible for essential visitors:

  Patient category	Clinical Team Guide	Visiting Restriction Guide
  Category 1: Patients with Life Altering Event
  End of Life (including MAID)	High risk of dying in the next 2 weeks   All other palliative/End of Life patients	1 visitor daily   1 visitor twice a week
  Child Birth	Includes post-partum	1 visitor daily
  Major Surgery	Anticipated LOS, greater than 3 days	1 visitor daily (reassess after 4days if ongoing visits required)
  Critical Illness	Unstable/deteriorating patient (e.g. CCU)	1 visitor daily
  Mental Health Crisis		1 visitor daily
  Life Altering Diagnosis	Includes outpatient and inpatient	1 visitor daily for inpatient 1 visitor for accompanying for outpatient
  Category 2: Vulnerable Patients
  Under 18 years	Time limit based on child’s need	1 visitor daily
  Significant Development, Intellectual Disability or Functional Disability		1 visitor 3 x week
  Cognitive Impairment	Dementia, severe brain injury, severe stroke	1 visitor 3 x week
  Unable to Safely communicate	All means of virtual communication has failed	1 visitor 3 x week
  Category 3: Other patients
  Long stay patients	More than 30 days stay, and discharge is not planned within the next week.	1 visitor 2 x week
  Short stay patients (review if category 1 or 2)	Less than 7 days stay, low acuity	No visitors
  Patient ready for discharge	An in-person meeting is required to facilitate discharge, where virtual options are not sufficient	1 visitor
  Emergency Care   (patient is within categories 1 and/or 2)	The need for essential care partners to support the patient and clinical team with timely assessment and support	1 visitor for accompanying the patient
  Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Imaging Appointments   (patient is within categories 1 and/or 2)	The need for essential visitors to support the patient and assist the care team.	1 visitor for accompanying the patient

   

  How to schedule visits for admitted patients:

  • Patients will identify their two essential visitors to the care team
  • The care team will schedule your visit (day/time)
  • Visiting on the inpatient units is restricted to 1 visitor per patient 1 hour block (4 blocks of time are available per day) – 12 visitors per day
  • Critical Care Unit and Obstetrics do not have visiting times – please discuss visiting with the care team.

  Area	Days of Week	Visiting Hours
  D Wing	Monday, Wednesday, Saturday	10:00am – 12:00pm 18:00pm – 20:00pm
  E Wing	Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday	10:00am – 12:00pm 18:00pm – 20:00pm
  F Wing	Monday, Wednesday, Saturday	10:00am – 12:00pm 18:00pm – 20:00pm
  Critical Care Unit	Daily	24hrs
  Obstetrics	Daily	24hrs

  
  Visitors will not be allowed to enter the hospital who:

  • Have COVID-19 symptoms (see appendix C)
  • Have been outside of Canada in the past 14 days
  • Has been tested positive for COVID19 and has not been cleared by Public Health
  • Have had close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID19 without wearing appropriate personal protective equipment
  • Are under the age of 18 years 
  • Any special circumstances or requests posed to the screeners should be run by the Manager of the department or the Hospital Service Coordinator
  • Merchant vendors, students and volunteers have been instructed to not return to the hospital until further notice
  • Patient bedside telephones have been activated free of charge to enable them to contact loved ones during this difficult time

  Access our patient visitation policy
• How do I access the hospital?
  Entry points into the hospital are now limited. The Ambulatory Care entrance is open between 6:30am - 8:30pm and the Emergency Department entrance is open 24/7. All other entrances to the hospital are closed. 
  
  All staff, patients and visitors will be screened before entering the hospital. Anyone who does not meet screening criteria, will not be permitted to enter.
• How do I self-isolate?
  During isolation, you must stay at home or in your accommodation for 14 days. Don’t go to public places or places where you might have contact with other people. Please adhere to the new provincial directions.
  
  Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has created useful instructions on how to self-isolate including: staying home, limiting the number of visitors in your home and avoiding contact with others. Access this information here.
   
• How do I self-monitor?
  When in isolation, monitor yourself for symptoms including fever, cough or shortness of breath.
  
  Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has created useful instruction on how to monitor for 14 days after exposure to COVID-19 including avoiding public spaces and what to do if you develop these or any other symptoms. Access this information here.
• I am a student or volunteer at the hospital. Should I come in for my shift?
  As a precaution we are asking all volunteers and students to not return to the hospital until further notice.
• Is it safe to come to Headwaters Health Care Centre?
  Yes, Headwaters continues to be a safe place to come for patient care. We are working with our partners and monitoring the COVID-19 situation to ensure we are following the latest direction and advice to keep everyone safe. We are taking steps to reduce the overall volume of people in the hospital (including students and volunteers) and are practicing physicial distancing.
• Should I be self-isolating?
  If you have travelled, you must self-isolate for 14 days since your arrival in Canada. People who are self-isolating should not go to work.
  
  If you have been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, you must self-isolate for 14 days from the date of your last contact with that person. This includes close contact within the 24 hours before the person became unwell.
• What can I do to protect my health and the health of others?
  1. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (access videos from Public Health)
  2. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available
  3. Avoid contact with people who are sick with respiratory or diarrhea illnesses
  4. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing
  5. Clean your hands after using the washroom, before eating and after sneezing or blowing your nose
• What does physicial distancing mean?
  This is a term used to broadly describe limiting overall volumes and interaction of people. We are limiting visitors including vendors, external attendees at meetings etc. As well as volunteers and students. We are using remote technologies and teleconferencing to reduce the number of people congregating together or coming to the hospital.

  As the province begins to take steps towards opening up we want to remind you of the continued importance of physicial distancing. 

• Where do I park when I come to the Hospital?

  There are two parking lots for patients and visitors to use; one next to our Ambulatory Care entrance and one next to our Emergency Department entrance. Signs on Rolling Hills Drive will direct you to whichever one you’d like to use.

  There are directional signs as well as staff working outside the Assessment Centre that can help provide further directions.