As we continue our attempts to contain the spread of COVID-19 (“the Coronavirus”), we are again making further changes to our Outpatient Offices & Maternal Child Health (MCH) Unit policies for visitation, as well as preventative measures as deemed necessary.

Please take note of the following information for Patients & Visitors:

1) Support persons will no longer be allowed at the outpatient visits in both the Day Kimball Medical Group OB/GYN and MFM offices. Note, exceptions will be made in unique situations where the support person is vital to the visit. If you feel the support person is an absolute necessity, please communicate this to the scheduling staff, and they will relay this information to the office leadership to determine if an exception will be made.

NOTE: THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR SUPPORT PERSON IN THE BIRTHING CENTER.

2) You must be a patient of the DKMG OB/GYN practice to have a support person allowed with you on MCH (Birthing Center).

3) Patient visitors will be limited to one support person per patient.

4) This support person will be screened for risk factors for COVID-19 and only allowed on the unit if deemed low risk. Screening will continue twice daily while on MCH, including assessment of support persons symptoms and temperature.

5) If a support person has risk factors, or shows symptoms of illness, we will ask that an alternate support person be identified, as this person will not be allowed on the unit.

6) All patients and support people will be asked to use alcohol based hand sanitizer prior to entering the unit, and then wash their hands again with soap & water upon entering the labor rooms.

7) Patients and support people will now be asked to wear face masks upon arrival and at all times throughout their stay on the unit.

8) Children will not be allowed on the unit.

9) If anyone presents to MCH for acute care who is not from the DKMG OB/GYN practice, they will still be cared for in standard fashion. However, their support person will not be allowed in the hospital.

10) Support people will no longer be permitted to leave the unit for any reason. They will be allowed to return home ONE TIME initially to retrieve personal items needed for the hospital stay. However, if they leave the unit at any other time, they will not be permitted to return. This includes going outside to smoke or going to the hospital cafeteria. Meals will be provided for support people by dietary free of charge.

11) Patients and/or support people will no longer be permitted to use the Kitchenette on the MCH Unit. Staff will accommodate patients’ requests for snacks as feasible.

12) We now suggest all patients who are working in public (not from home) stop as of 34 weeks gestational age to allow time for self-isolation prior to entering the hospital for delivery. This recommendation is especially true for health care workers.

13) For those support persons who work in public (not from home), we would also suggest consideration of this self-isolation policy between 34-37 weeks. For those support persons who work in health care and are exposed to COVID positive patients or patients under investigation (PUI’s), you may be denied access to the birthing center on the day of delivery if there is concern for a recent exposure.

NOTE: These self-isolation recommendations are meant to reduce the risk to all of our patient, newborns, and staff. Reducing your exposure in public over this timeframe close to delivery makes it less likely for transmission of the virus in the hospital where many people are quite vulnerable.

Again, these are temporary measures put in place to limit exposure for our patients, newborns, as well as our staff. These measures are subject to change at any time, and exceptions may be made for unique circumstances at the discretion of the Medical Director. We understand this may be an inconvenience for many, but these changes are in the best interest of our community.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Day Kimball Hospital

For the latest information, refer to the CDC website, www.cdc.gov and the CT DPH website, www.ct.gov/coronavirus. Local measures to contain the spread of the virus are available at Day Kimball Healthcare at www.daykimball.org/coronavirus, or call 2-1-1, the CT State Hotline for information.