Due to rising respiratory illness cases in our regions, as of Friday, Jan. 10, Cape Fear Valley Health facilities has raised the minimum age requirement for visitation from six to 12 years old in most areas. All minors must be accompanied by an adult.

“We’re seeing a lot of respiratory illness in our Emergency Departments and everywhere else,” said Vice President of Operations and Development Brian Pearce in a press release. “Limiting younger children from visiting can help protect those children as well as our patients. We encourage everyone to practice good hand hygiene, get their flu vaccine and wear a mask if they are experiencing symptoms but must go out in public.”

Since the beginning of respiratory illness season on Oct. 1, the health system’s emergency departments combined have seen more than 1,250 cases of pneumonia and more than 740 cases of flu. Last year by this time, the health system’s emergency departments had seen only 630 cases of pneumonia, but 3,050 cases of the flu. Pearce said the high number of pneumonia cases this year was worrying.

“For many people, pneumonia can be more serious than the flu, especially young children and the elderly,” he said. “However, having the flu can then lead to having pneumonia.”

The health system is also adding a requirement for staff in certain patient care areas to wear masks. With the continuing exception of Emergency Department patients with respiratory symptoms, there is no requirement for visitors to wear masks at this time, though it is strongly recommended.

Visitation hours remain from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visitors with symptoms of a fever or respiratory illness symptoms, including cough or shortness of breath, should remain home

Staff who are involved in patient care in the following areas will be required to wear a mask during patient care: Emergency Departments, Intensive Care Units, Step-Down, ExpressCare, Long Term Acute Care (LTAC), and in any areas where they are caring for a patient with respiratory illness. In clinics, frontline staff are required to wear a mask for all patient encounters and staff who are in direct patient care of patients with respiratory symptoms are required to wear a mask. Masks are strongly recommended for all other patient encounters.

Below are the rest of Cape Fear Valley Health’s current visitation policies:

Patients are allowed up to two visitors at a time, between the hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and visitors may come and go during those hours. All patients are allowed to have one visitor stay overnight in their room if space allows, but overnight visitors must be in the hospital before visiting hours close, and cannot leave and return after 8 p.m., until visiting hours reopen the next day. Visitors to patients who are under any isolation protocols must follow any restrictions required for that patient.

In the Emergency Department, visitors are not allowed in the waiting room unless the patient is 65 years old or older, or is cognitively impaired, regardless of age. Those patients may have one visitor with them at a time in the waiting room or triage. For other patients, one visitor will be allowed once the patient has been given a room. Visitors to patients in the Emergency Department are allowed to leave and return.

In the Pediatric Emergency Department, only one parent or guardian is allowed in the waiting room with pediatric patients in the Emergency Department. Once a child is placed in a room, they can have two parents/guardians with them.

The following exceptions and specifications are noted with this visitation policy:

• Labor and Delivery: Laboring mothers may have up to three designated support people, and those people cannot switch with other people during labor and delivery, but they can come and go. They may stay with the patient throughout their stay in Labor and Delivery. Support people must be 16 years old or older.
• Family Centered Care Unit: Two visitors allowed at a time. Visiting hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Pediatric patients/Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Parents/legal guardians may visit at any time. Only parents/legal guardians may add visitors to the list for pediatric patients. Children ages 12 and up may visit, but visitors between the ages of 12 and 17 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. No more than two visitors at a time in the patient’s room.
• In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), two banded visitors and four other designated visitors are allowed, and they must have their names identified at the secretary desk. They can visit at any time, but only two visitors are allowed at the bedside at any one time. These visitors may come and go except during physician rounds from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. There is no space to allow for overnight stays. Siblings can visit on Saturday and Sunday from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. but must be over the age of 12 and without any signs of illness.
• Patients who need a healthcare decision maker or require communication assistance may have one Care Companion with them at all times. The Care Companion may be changed during visiting hours.
• End of Life patients may have up to four visitors at a time present at bedside. These visitors may be changed out during the End of Life visit. In certain circumstances, the nursing supervisor may allow for compassionate exceptions to this rule for End of Life patients.