The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Patients’ families: New hospital restrictions take emotional toll
Hospitals in Greenwich, New Haven, Bridgeport and Middletown have announced heightened visitation restrictions as part of an effort to increase patient safety amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
Those who have been directly affected by visitation policies at Yale New Haven Hospital said there is an emotional toll of the restrictions — which are similar to those enacted at many health care facilities around the state.. Family members note of the importance of strong communication, and clergy say being kept from visiting Connecticut hospitals has changed their jobs.
Even so, they said they understood the need for the rules.
“It’s unfortunate that family can’t be with the sick patients, but … I understand,” said New Haven resident Zania Collier. “Unfortunately, it’s just something you have to deal with.”
Collier said her husband, Willie R. Collier, contracted COVID-19 in the spring and, despite having no preexisting health conditions, has been in and out of the hospital since due to longterm effects of the virus.
Though being unable to visit her husband at the peak of the pandemic was emotionally devastating, Collier saw how taxing COVID-19’s April onslaught was and realized “that they have to do something and keep the numbers down.”
“Unfortunately, everybody is not practicing social distancing or wearing a mask,” she said.
The emotions
COVID-19 left her husband comatose and in the hospital for most of April and May, according to Collier.
During that time, she often would go two or three days without sleep, she said.
“It was very hard, very emotional,” she said. “Not being able to be there, to
advocate for him … and him being alone, was very hard for all of us.”
Collier remembered the first time her son, who is in his 20s, saw his father over video chat after he became ill. “It was very shocking and overwhelming seeing tubes and everything,” she said.
Now, Willie R. Collier is getting ready to return to the hospital for surgery next week, Zania Collier said.
“I was informed that I can drop (him) off,” she said. “But once they take him in for the surgery, we can’t wait. We won’t be able to go back until he’s ready for pickup.”
Communication
Despite one snag, when, according to Collier, a mix-up temporarily removed her as her husband’s point-of-contact — an issue she thinks would have been easily resolved if she could have gone to the hospital in person — Collier was pleased with Yale’s communication.
Hospital staff members were kind, according to Collier, frequently reaching out to see whether she needed anything.
And while waiting by the phone for updates brought anxiety, Collier said, those updates came regularly.
“The thing about them not letting people visit — I understand that,” she said. “I didn’t have a problem with that, so by them calling me every day, keeping me updated and returning phone calls, that was very helpful.”
Hollie Sabetta of North Branford said she understands the need for the visitor restrictions, but worries about communication problems families could face. Sabetta said she had family members in and out of YNHH on four separate occasions since the pandemic began.
While she would not choose any other hospital, Sabetta said, she was at times frustrated by communication — especially toward the beginning of the pandemic, when one of her relatives was in the emergency room and not allowed visitors.
Communication has improved since then, she said.
Sabetta suggested the hospital create an app to quickly provide updates and avoid phone tag between staff and patients’ families.
Going virtual
In a statement, Yale New Haven Hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer Ena Williams and Joan Kelly, chief experience officer for the Yale New Haven Health System, said they were “sorry” to learn of Sabetta’s experience and “would like to facilitate the conversations with her care team members.”
The hospital uses a service called Epic to update families on the status of patients in the outpatient setting, the statement said; communication via text or email is more difficult when it comes to inpatient care.
“In these instances, we prefer a dialogue with a care team member to facilitate any questions, assist in decision making and ensure the families understand the next steps for goals of care,” it said.
To address the challenges of COVID, the hospital has invested heavily in technology, the administrators said.
“In the spring when it was clear we needed to reduce the visitation for the patients’ safety due to Covid, we worked quickly to install iPads to allow patients to communicate through Zoom and FaceTime with their families,” the statement said.
The investment, which according to a spokesman applies to all hospitals in the Yale system, allows clinicians to video-conference with families during rounds, Kelly said.
Seeing their family members via video also brings comfort to patients, Williams said.
In addition to communication, the pandemic affected some of the hospital’s enrichment programs, according to Kelly.
But Yale has been able to take many of those initiatives — such as meditation and music programs — virtual, Kelly said.
Impacts on clergy
Clergy members also have been affected by the hospital visitation restrictions.
“Personally, it makes me feel like, you know, I’m not … being effective in ministry,” the Rev. Kelcy Steele, pastor of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church in New Haven, said of not being able to visit congregants in the hospital. “It makes you sad … that you’re not able to be at the bedside of, you know, your parishioners in their most vulnerable moments.”
Often, the most Steele can do is answer a phone call, he said.
“A lot of people, they want that gift of presence,” he said. “We are people. We long for that human touch. And this has been a difficult season for anyone who has been a pastor.”
Rabbi Brian Immerman, of Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, also has been working to overcome visitation limits.
He hasn’t been inside a hospital or rehabilitation facility since the pandemic began, he said. But as the weather grew warmer, Immerman was able to meet with congregants outdoors at rehabilitation facilities.
In one case, when a man at the end of his life was too weak to come outside, Immerman said, the rabbi stood outside the building and spoke through an opening in a window.
Come winter, Immerman is ready to bundle up and do the same, he said.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s still very meaningful,” he said.
As for Yale New Haven Hospital, Immerman said its staff has been “incredibly accommodating” in connecting people via video.
Exceptions to the rule
In some cases, patients at the hospital still will be allowed visitors, according to Yale New Haven Health administrators.
Exceptions apply to certain patients who cannot communicate vital pieces of information, to patients receiving end-oflife care and to those about to be discharged, according to Williams.
Children, women giving birth and patients being prepared for surgery also may have visitors, Kelly said.
Bridgeport Hospital, also part of the Yale system, announced the same restrictions were to take effect Saturday, according to a release.
In the release, John Cappiello, media relations coordinator, noted “We encourage visitors to remain closely connected to their loved ones through virtual means, including Skype, FaceTime and/or phone.”
“All visitors who do enter the hospital will be screened for evidence of illness by the staff at the front desk and will be required to wear a mask at all times.”
Starting Monday, Greenwich Hospital, another Yale affiliate, will only allow patients to receive one visitor per day. Greenwich Hospital has a dedicated wing for coronavirus patients; it has been fully staffed and operational since last month.
Meanwhile, Middlesex Health in Middletown also increased restrictions last week, with exceptions for obstetrics patients, children, patients receiving end-of-life-care and those with disabilities.
Williams said implementing visitation restrictions is not something administrators take lightly, adding that the decision was driven by a need to limit the number of people in the building and allow social distancing.
“This is about the safety for our patients,” Kelly said.