Each locality in the West Piedmont Health District has exceeded 100 cases of the coronavirus, with Henry County having more cases than every other locality combined at 530 cases as of Aug. 5.
The other localities in the district are Franklin and Patrick counties and the City of Martinsville. Martinsville has the second highest number of cases, with 179. Franklin County is third with 163 and Patrick County has 119 cases.
There have been 118 hospitalizations for the entire district and 15 deaths.
Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and the increased rate of transmission in Martinsville & Henry County, Sovah Health – Martinsville will be enforcing a modified limited visitor policy effective immediately for all inpatient units with specific exceptions.
Sovah Health – Danville will remain under their current modified limited visitor protocol.
“As always, the safety of our patients, providers and team members continues to be our top priority as we continue to navigate this pandemic, and we will not waver in this commitment,” said Dale Alward, CEO of Sovah Health – Martinsville. “We continue to take all of the necessary precautions in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our facilities, and we want to reassure our communities that it is safe to come to our hospitals and clinics should you or your family need care.”
The heightened visitor protocol is in direct response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Martinsville and Henry County as reported by the Virginia Department of Health.
Some exceptions apply for the updated limited-visitor protocol include:
*Outpatient surgery patients will be allowed one WELL visitor.
*Outpatient ancillary patients will be allowed one WELL visitor.
*Pediatric patients will be allowed one WELL parent or guardian only.
*Obstetric patients will be allowed to have one WELL support person with them for their entire hospital visit.
*End-of-life care limited exceptions will be made for end of life and medical necessity as determined by the care team.
Patients and families are encouraged to keep in contact with their loved ones utilizing virtual means such as through phone calls or other technologies that are available.
Sovah Health continues to take all the necessary precautions to keep our patients and staff safe by isolating our COVID-19 patients, enforcing a universal masking policy, screening everyone who enters our facilities, implementing the most effective cleaning and disinfecting protocols, and enhancing safety with new personal protective equipment protocols. These protective measures for managing infectious diseases ensure that our facilities are always safe for you and your loved ones when you need care.
“We understand these new restrictions may be difficult for many in our community and we apologize for any inconvenience they may cause, but we feel these protective measures are necessary for the health and safety of our patients and team. Our team, along with our community partners, are monitoring COVID-19 closely, and we will reassess and adjust the visitor policy as the number of positive cases subsides locally and we feel it’s safe and appropriate to do so,” said Alward.
For additional updates on how the hospital is working to maintain a safe and supportive environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit SovahHealth.com.
