Children's Hospital Suspends Some Surgeries, Appointments

MILWAUKEE, WI — On Monday, Children's Hospital announced they're making a number of notable changes after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a public health emergency Thursday over the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, across the state.

Officials at the state's largest hospitals are offering advice to people who feel they may have come into contact with the virus. They've also updated their visitor policies.

At Children's Hospital, officials said they're suspending types of surgeries, as well as postponing some activities at specialty clinics. "unless it is a medical emergency,[some surgeries] will be rescheduled for a later date," officials said Monday.

March 16 Update: Children's Hospital Changes Visitor Policy, Offers COVID-19 Guidelines

On Monday, Children's Hospital said they're suspending all non-time-sensitive surgeries, and cancelling all clinic appointments that can be safely put on hold starting Tuesday, March 17.
"If your upcoming appointment or surgery has been cancelled, you will be called directly," hospital officials said Monday morning.

According to Children's Hospital officials,here are four points related to surgeries:

1. Most well-child appointments for children under 18 months will remain in order to keep those children on their critical immunization schedules. If your child is sick, please call your child’s doctor for medical guidance or to schedule an appointment.

2. All Children’s Wisconsin urgent care locations will remain open. We will continue to provide robust guidance via phone, Online Video visits or MyChart message.

3. In specialty clinics, all non-essential appointments, including lab and imaging, are cancelled at all locations. Your child’s appointment and medical record will be reviewed by their provider to determine if it’s medically necessary at this time and you will be called with the status of their appointment. If you are unsure of the status of an appointment or have a concern, please call the clinic or use MyChart for assistance.

4. If your child has a surgery scheduled or planned in the next two weeks, unless it is a medical emergency, it will be rescheduled for a later date. You will be called with the status of your child’s appointment.

Froedtert Offers Guidelines

"If you have symptoms or COVID-19 concerns, please call your health care provider or the location before visiting a health care facility. This allows staff to properly prepare for your arrival and evaluate your symptoms for risk of COVID-19," Froedtert officials said.

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According to Froedtert officials, the virus appears to spread mainly from person to person within 6 feet of contact. The virus spreads through respiratory droplets from an infected person who is coughing or sneezing. It is also possible to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object with the virus on it, then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

"People who show symptoms of COVID-19 should wear a mask to help prevent spread of the disease to others," they said.

Froedtert already had a visitor policy in place. "As of Dec. 18, 2019, children under the age of 12 are not allowed to visit patients in any of our Birth Centers. Additionally, you should avoid visiting any patient if you have flu symptoms. The restriction is temporary and aimed to limit the spread of the flu while specifically protecting vulnerable newborns," the policy read.

Children's Hospital Changes Visitor Policy

In response to the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, Children’s Wisconsin is monitoring and actively preparing for COVID-19, in cooperation with state and local health authorities.

"Families should only come to our emergency department if a child is experiencing a medical emergency or is directed to go there by a doctor. Please note that Children’s Wisconsin is not a testing site for COVID-19," Children's Hospital officials said. "If you believe your child has been exposed to COVID-19 or is showing symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath), call your doctor’s office for guidance OR visit Children’s Online Urgent Care for a video visit with a doctor."

Children who are experiencing symptoms should avoid contact with at-risk populations, including elderly family members and individuals with other serious health conditions.

Children's Hospital has also introduced visitor restrictions for clinic appointments and hospital visits to reduce the risk of exposure. Only one caregiver — and no siblings — will be allowed to accompany a child to an appointment. In their Surgicenter and hospitals in Milwaukee and Neenah, patients can only have two individuals over the age of 12 visit.

Additional changes and updates that impact families and visitors to Children’s will be posted at chw.org/coronavirus.

Ascension Changes Visitor Policy

Ascension, one of the largest healthcare providers in Wisconsin, has changed their visitor policy, citing COVID-19 concerns.

"Ascension Wisconsin is implementing temporary visitor restrictions, in both inpatient and outpatient settings, to minimize disease transmission, specifically the spread of viral respiratory infections including COVID-19," hospital officials said in a statement.

Those restrictions include limiting patient visits to two people at a time, and restricting visitors who have returned in the last two weeks from one of several foreign countries.

Ascension Wisconsin’s current visitation policy includes the following:

• Restricting visitors who have flu-like symptoms and/or cough, fever, and/or shortness of breath, runny nose/nasal congestion, or sore throat.
• Limiting visits to two visitors per patient at any given time.
• Visits from children under age 14 will be at the discretion of patients and clinicians involved in their care.
• Per guidance from the CDC, we are restricting visitors who have returned from a country within the past 14 days that the CDC has designated as Level 3 Warning or Level 2 for Novel Coronavirus.

Prohealth Care In Waukesha, Oconomowoc Changes Visitor Policy

At ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital and ProHealth Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, only one visitor per patient at a time will be allowed. ProHealth staff also will strongly encourage that in any 24-hour period, a hospital patient should have the same visitor, rather than a succession of different visitors.

In the hospitals’ labor and delivery and neonatal intensive care units, the following restrictions are now in place:

• Visitation in labor and delivery will be limited to one person at a time, and it is recommended this be the same person throughout labor and delivery. Visitation in the NICU will be limited to two people at a time.
• Visitors are limited to parents, guardians or support partners.
• Visitors must be 18 or older.
• Visitors will be screened prior to entering patient areas. Any visitor with a fever or other signs of illness will not be allowed to enter and will be asked to leave the hospital.

• There will be no restrictions on visitation in situations where a patient is near the end of life.