Updated family support and visitation guidelines

As we all know, family and loved ones play an essential role in the emotional, physical and mental well-being of our patients and residents.

And we continue to work with families and facilities to welcome family presence and visitation wherever we can. But the daily rise in COVID-19 cases, including outbreaks at our facilities, is a growing concern to the safety of everyone.

I know we’re all working very hard to ensure patients and staff remain safe and stop further spread of the virus. Part of that involves regularly reviewing our family support and visitation guidelines, and adjusting them to reflect the current evidence and COVID-19 transmission in Alberta.

That’s why, last week, we made the difficult decision to place further limits on the number of designated family/support persons permitted at facilities with outbreaks and areas of high community transmission.

Joining me to talk more about these changes are two familiar faces from the Family Presence and Visitation Taskforce:

• Dr. Jim Silvius, Senior Medical Director, Provincial Seniors Health and Continuing Care, and
• Paul Wright, Manager, Calgary Zone, Patient Family Centred Care

Jim and Chris discuss what we take into account when making these changes, where these changes apply, and how we support people who aren’t able to visit in person.