ProHealth Care Limits Hospital Visitation

WAUKESHA, WI – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a public health emergency Thursday over the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, across the state. ProHealth Care has put in place stricter rules for hospital visitation to protect patients and employees amid the coronavirus health emergency.

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.

Especially now, anyone who is feeling unwell should not visit a hospital or other health care facility unless it is to seek care, hospital officials said.

In addition to the visitation restrictions, ProHealth Care has suspended volunteer services at its hospitals and canceled student visits and patient support groups.