(Hamodia) – Hospitals in New York state will have to develop protocols for communicating with patients’ families during the coronavirus pandemic, under new guidance issued by the Health Department on Friday, as most patients are prohibited from having supporting persons with them in the hospital.
As hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients and every person is a potential virus carrier, the state had banned most patients from having relatives or friends with them as support persons, with exceptions for pediatric patients, women giving birth, imminent end-of-life situations, and situations where a support person is essential to the care of the patient and therefore deemed “medically necessary.”
The original guidance from the state, issued March 18, said that “hospitals should attempt to provide other forms of communication to meet the needs of their patients,” but many people with hospitalized relatives complained to elected officials about inadequate communication, and not being kept up to date on the status of their loved ones. CONTINUE