LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Baptist Health has set up visitor restrictions to support infection prevention and to keep our patients, visitors, caregivers and facilities safe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Current visitor restrictions are modeled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arkansas Department of Health guidelines.
Baptist Health currently has restrictions for people entering facilities for purposes other than to receive medical care or visit a patient or family member.
Visitors wishing to see patients will be limited to patient rooms only. All visitors must remain in the patient’s room or they will be asked kindly to leave the building.
In addition, Baptist Health is suspending access to all common areas such as public waiting rooms and hospital cafeterias, which will only be available for hospital employees to get food.
The following visitor and companion restrictions support infection prevention and help us keep our patients, caregivers and facilities safe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:
- At all facilities, every individual must wash hands or use alcohol sanitizer before and after leaving any patient rooms.
- Restrictions for surgery waiting rooms:
- No one who is sick or ill is allowed to enter the facility except to seek care for their illness
- A maximum of two people per surgery patient will be allowed in the surgery waiting area
- Restrictions for women’s and children’s and intensive care areas:
- If you have traveled within the last 14 days to any country outside of the United States or have any of the following symptoms, Baptist Health cannot allow you to enter these areas:
- Fever
- Cough
- Body aches
- Diarrhea
- Sore throat
- If you have traveled within the last 14 days to any country outside of the United States or have any of the following symptoms, Baptist Health cannot allow you to enter these areas:
- Restrictions for geri-psych:
- Due to suspended access to common areas and the high risk for the patient population, visitation will be restricted.
Thank you for understanding. Baptist Health is closely monitoring this evolving situation and taking precautionary steps to ensure there are no compromises in patient safety at any of our health care system’s facilities.
Baptist Health is Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization with more than 200 points of access that include 11 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community and over 100 primary and specialty care clinics in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The system additionally offers a college with studies in nursing and allied health; a graduate residency program; and access to virtual care anytime, anywhere. Baptist Health, as the largest not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, provides care to patients wherever they are through the support of approximately 11,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs. For more information about Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.