Coronavirus Announcements
1. Visitation
For the safety of our patients and staff we are continuing to uphold our COVID-19 modified visitation policy.
We are accepting limited visitors. Bay Area Hospital will permit one adult visitor (age 18 or older) and two adult visitors for patients under the age of 18 at a time per inpatient in the facility. Visitors should come through the new main entrance Monday-Friday, or the Emergency Department (ED) entrance on Saturdays and Sundays between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Limited visitors will continue to be screened at hospital entrances, and anyone entering the facility will be required to wear a face mask provided by Bay Area Hospital unless they have a medical reason why they are unable to wear a mask.
Exceptions to the limited visitor policy will be made on an individual basis; generally speaking, Bay Area Hospital will allow for exceptions to the one visitor policy in birth and end of life situations only. At this time, children under the age of 12 will not be allowed to visit unless there’s a special circumstance. If you need special consideration, please contact the unit charge nurse.
Some things you can do for your loved ones in the hospital when visiting is restricted:
Communicate by phone, face time/skype, send a card, email, and send flowers
2. Vaccinations
Bay Area Hospital received additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine last week which are designated as primary doses for healthcare workers as defined by OHA’s Tier one criteria. The hospital is working with other healthcare organizations in the county to get these additional primary dose vaccines distributed to healthcare workers that have not received their first dose of vaccine.
The vaccination clinic opens on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 and Wednesday, January 13, 2021 for healthcare workers who would like to drop in to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Drop-in clinic hours are 0700-1200 and 1700-2000.
Tier one of vaccine distribution includes:
• Group 1: Hospitals; urgent care; skilled nursing and memory care facility health care
personnel (HCP) and residents; tribal health programs; EMS providers and other first
responders
• Group 2: Other Long Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) and congregate care sites including
HCP and residents; hospice programs; mobile crisis care and related services; secure transport;
individuals working in a correctional setting
• Group 3: Outpatient settings serving specific high-risk groups; in home care; day treatment
services; non-emergency medical transport (NEMT)
• Group 4: HCP in other outpatient, public health and early learning settings; death care
workers
The definition of health care personnel (HCP) includes paid and unpaid persons serving in
health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including body substances (e.g., blood, tissue and specific body fluids); contaminated medical supplies, devices and equipment; contaminated environmental surfaces; or contaminated air. HCP include, but are not limited to, emergency medical service (EMS) personnel, nurses, nursing assistants, home health care personnel, physicians, technicians, therapists, phlebotomists, pharmacists, students and trainees, contractual staff not employed by the health care facility, and persons not directly involved in patient care but who could be exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted in the health care setting (e.g., clerical, dietary, environmental services, laundry, security, engineering and facilities management, administrative, billing and volunteer personnel).
The first shipment of booster (second dose) vaccine is expected to arrive the week of January 17, 2021 and more information about future clinic hours and scheduling will be shared later this week.
To follow updates about the COVID-19 vaccination, click here: (https://cooshealthandwellness.org/public-health/covid-19-vaccine-information/)
Governor Kate Brown has announced that Oregon will be expanding COVID-19 vaccinations to include all individuals age 65 and older. In addition, the federal government announced it would be releasing its full reserve of vaccines available to states, rather than holding some doses in storage. Vaccination of Oregon seniors- as well as child care providers and early learning and K-12 educators and staff is expected to start January 23rd when additional vaccine shipments are expected to begin arriving from the federal government. We eagerly await additional information from the state about the timing of shipments of the vaccine to our community and we are working with our community healthcare partners on the plan for administering the vaccine to the expanded group.
For trusted information please view the following websites:
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