NPMC temporarily revises visitation
National Park Medical Center announced Wednesday that the facility will implement a new visitor policy effective November 23. The decision was made as COVID- 19 cases continue to rise in Garland county and across the state.
“National Park Medical Center’s top priority continues to be protecting the health and safety of our patients, providers, employees and the communities we serve. Like our fellow healthcare providers, we continue to be challenged by the concerning trend of COVID- 19 in our local community and across the nation,” said NPMC’s CEO, Scott Smith. “The number of COVID- 19 cases continues to rise rapidly across the country, and the same is true here at home in Hot Springs. In fact, COVID- 19- related hospitalizations have reached an all- time high across our state since this public health crisis began.”
The new policy will include limiting visitor hours to 5: 30 pm to 8 pm daily, for one well visitor per patient per day. The ICU will remain closed to visitors. Exceptions to the policy will include labor and delivery, pediatric and endof- life patients. All visitors must be 16 years of age or older, will be screened upon entry and are required to wear a mask and an armband while in the facility. Visitors are asked to bring their own mask. Visitors who do not pass the screening at entry will be asked to reschedule their visit until they are symptom- free. Visitors should enter through the emergency department entrance beginning at 5: 30 pm daily.
“Small towns and rural areas across the country and across Arkansas have seen a rapid acceleration of COVID- 19 cases in the past few weeks, and our hospital has felt the impact,” continued Smith. “Unfortunately, the continued surge and prevalence of COVID- 19 has the potential to overwhelm the local healthcare delivery system, which is why we all must do our part to protect ourselves, our healthcare workers and our communities. With up to 40 percent of those infected showing few to no symptoms, the virus can spread quickly. Combined with cooler temperatures and our annual flu season, we are facing what could be a particularly challenging fall and winter. We strongly urge our community members to be even more diligent in their efforts to slow the spread of COVID- 19 in the months ahead, especially while considering holiday plans.”
“We continue to closely monitor the prevalence of the virus in our community and build upon our hospital’s emergency operations plan, which maps out – among many things – our escalation plan in the event of a surge of patients. We cannot speculate on what could happen over the coming weeks and months, but we can assure everyone that we are working hard to plan for all of these scenarios and adapt our hospital operations to safely care for and support our community during this evolving pandemic.
“We must continue to stay vigilant. It is going to take all of us being extra cautious and taking every possible preventive measure to change the course of the pandemic and avoid a greater healthcare and economic crisis. We call upon every community member in Garland County to lead by example — wear a mask over your nose and mouth, wash your hands frequently, practice social distancing and avoid group gatherings,” said Smith.