GHCC resumes indoor visitation with residents
GHCC resident Dorcas Rackley was delighted to have a recent in-person visit with her daughter, Barbara Luna.
GHCC resident Marylyne Stansbury enjoyed a visit with her son Dave Stansbury and his wife Teresa.
Gainesville Health Care Center announced last week that indoor visitation for all residents (regardless of vaccination status) has resumed, with a few exceptions. GHCC administrator Sherri Beasley said that visitation would still be limited in a few circumstances when there is a high risk of covid-19 transmission. Com-passionate care visits (at end of life or for the psycho-social needs of the resident) are permitted at all times.
“To maintain covid infection control guidelines, we do need to limit the total number of visitors in the building at one time, so visits still need to be scheduled in advance,” she said. To schedule a visit, call GHCC at 417-679-4921.
“And visits will either be in a designated area or in the resident’s room,” Beasley said. “Residents may have two to three visitors at a time. Visitors cannot roam the halls; they need to remain in the resident’s room or the designated area.”
If the GHCC resident is fully vaccinated (meaning it’s been two weeks or longer since they received their second dose of the covid-19 vaccine), they can choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a well-fitting mask and performing hand-hygiene before and after, said Beasley.
Residents who are unvaccinated must maintain social distancing requirements with visitors at all times, she said.
All visitors are screened and must pass a health assessment.
Beasley added that resident outings are not encouraged at this time and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This does not include necessary doctor’s appointments.
Updates will be issued as the guidelines change, Beasley said.
She expressed expressing thanks for residents’ and visitors’ “continued cooperation with our covid guidelines.”