News release - Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH)
GBGH is lifting its mandatory visitor vaccination policy based on the current pandemic status in the region.
Effective immediately, visitors to the hospital will no longer be required to show proof of COVID-19 immunization as a condition of entry to the hospital.
“For safety reasons during the height of the pandemic, GBGH made the difficult but necessary decision to limit visitation to those who had received COVID-19 vaccinations,” says Angie Saini, vice president of Clinical Services and chief nursing executive.
“As we have seen across the province, mandatory vaccination policies have been lifted with decreasing infection rates. GBGH continues to carefully and regularly consider our policies and feel it is now safe to remove our mandatory visitor vaccination policy," she continued.
"Visitation is always an essential part of patient care as it enhances the patient experience and improves patient outcomes.”
While visitors will no longer be required to show proof of COVID-19 immunization, GBGH remains committed to keeping patients, staff, visitors and volunteers safe through a continuation of mandatory masking within the hospital.
All patients and visitors will be required to wear a hospital-provided mask for the duration of their visit. Health experts have agreed that continued use of masking in hospital settings remains a simple and necessary safeguard.
Masking helps prevent the most vulnerable patients – those cared for by hospitals - from contracting COVID-19.
Visitors and patients will also continue to be actively screened for COVID-19 symptoms and mandatory mask adherence upon entry to GBGH.
COVID-19 policies are subject to change based on the status of the pandemic within the region GBGH serves.
Feature image - file photo - Barrie 360
