CoxHealth Eases Visitor Restrictions

Monday, May 17, 2021 at 6:44 AM

CoxHealth is easing its visitor restrictions as COVID-19 levels decrease around the southwest Missouri region.

Starting today, inpatients may have one visitor per day between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in most areas of CoxHealth’s hospital facilities and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the ICUs and Step-Down Units.

Specific guidelines will vary in certain departments such as NICU, Pediatrics, Labor and Delivery, Emergency Departments, COVID-19 Units, and others.

Visitors are also allowed to leave the facility and return on the same day.

“Our Incident Command team has closely monitored local prevalence of COVID-19, and given that the number of cases has been much lower over the past few months, we feel that this adjustment is warranted,” says Karen Kramer, CoxHealth’s Incident Commander for COVID-19 response. “The restrictions we’ve had in place are not ones we have enjoyed but felt they were necessary to help control the spread of disease in our communities. We are glad that local disease prevalence is low enough that patients can now have more access to loved ones during their time with us.”

Visitors must be at least 18-years-old and must have a mask on at all times while in the hospital. Visitors will also have to pass a temperature and symptom screening.

(Story by Christina Randall, Ozarks First)