COVID-19: Iredell Health Tightens Visitation At All Facilities

IREDELL COUNTY, NC — Iredell Health System is clamping down on visitors at Iredell Memorial Hospital, as well as in outpatient and urgent care facilities and physician offices amid heightened spread of COVID-19 in the county, it announced.

“We have recently seen a significant increase in the number of hospitalizations and positive COVID tests in our county and in North Carolina, and these restrictions are a necessary precaution to help protect our workforce and our community,” John Green, President & CEO of Iredell Health System said in a statement. “We understand this change may be difficult, and appreciate everyone’s ongoing support during these challenging times.”

The visitor policy restrictions come as COVID-19 community spread remains elevated in Iredell County, as well as 97 other counties in North Carolina.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 403 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Iredell County in the last week, representing a nearly 52 percent increase from the week before. In the past week, the county has reported a 14 percent positivity rate, while fewer than 38 percent of adults in the county are fully vaccinated, CDC said.

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Iredell Health System says the new visitor policy, which went into effect Aug. 6, requires:

• Patients hospitalized at Iredell Memorial, including the Critical Care Unit and Emergency Department, will be permitted to have two visitors per patient per day.
• Patients of The Birth Place may have one support person and one visitor, but those two individuals must also remain the same throughout the day.
• Exceptions can be made throughout all units of the hospital for end-of-life situations.
• No visitors are allowed for COVID-19 positive patients, with the exception of end-of-life situations.
• All visitors must be age 18 or older, and no visitors showing any symptoms of illness.
• Face coverings are required while inside any of the Health System’s facilities.
• Social distancing and safety guidelines must also be followed.
• The Health System’s outpatient services will now only allow one individual to accompany a patient to the Same Day Surgery Center, Endoscopy Center, Radiation Therapy Center, Heart & Vascular Center, Imaging department, Outpatient Laboratory, Women’s Health Center, Iredell Wound Care Center, Iredell Urgent Care, and all Iredell Physician Network practices, including the Iredell Mooresville campus.
• Should waiting rooms in those areas be full, visitors will be asked to wait in their vehicles.

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• COVID Is Elevated In Iredell, 97 Other NC Counties, CDC Says