Phoebe Sumter suspends ER visitation
AMERICUS, Ga. (WALB) - Due to an overwhelming volume of patients, Phoebe Sumter has temporarily suspended visitation in its emergency center.
“This morning, every room in our emergency center was occupied by a patient holding for admission. Unfortunately, that and long delays have become our daily experience rather than the exception, as we deal with the challenging impacts of this latest COVID surge,” said Brandi Lunneborg, Phoebe Sumter Chief Executive Officer.
“We will soon take over office space adjacent to our ER to help with patient overflow, but right now we simply don’t have room for visitors. Regretfully, except under a few exceptions, we have suspended visitation in our ER until our volume of patients slows down. We will work diligently to stay in communication with loved ones who cannot be at a patient’s bedside, and we ask for their patience and understanding,” Lunneborg added.
The exceptions that may apply are:
- End-of-life situations
- Patients with special needs
- Minors under age 18
If one of those exceptions is met, one visitor per patient may be allowed, and all visitors must stay with the patient during the visit.
Phoebe Sumter will re-evaluate visitation rules daily. For now, visitation guidelines in other areas of the hospital are not changing.
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