Carilion Clinic’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has reopened to limited visitation.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is Carilion Clinic’s 60-bed specialized unit for ill and/or premature babies.
“A baby’s connection to loved ones is vitally important,” said Dr. Kimberly Dunsmore, chair of Carilion Children’s. “Our NICU providers have been working round the clock to reestablish visitation in a way that is safe for our patients and care teams.”
Under the guidelines for visitors, patients have two designated visitors (parents or legal guardians). In an effort to minimize the number of visitors on the unit at once, only one visitor per patient is permitted per visit. Additionally, families are assigned even or odd calendar days to visit during limited visitation hours (11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight). Visitors can stay as long as they’d like during visitation hours. Once they leave the floor, their visit is over for the day.
“We are constantly evaluating the situation, which is evolving daily,” said Dr. Dunsmore. “While this system is more complex than our typical visitation guidelines, it is designed in a way that allows us to practice social distancing and minimize person-to-person contact on the unit.”
All staff and visitors must go through an NICU-specific screening process before entering the unit. This consists of a COVID-19 questionnaire and temperature check. While on the unit, staff and visitors must also wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
“I know this has been a difficult journey for our families, and I so appreciate their patience, flexibility and resiliency during this time,” said Dr. Dunsmore. “We’re all working together toward the same goal: protecting our babies and our patients.”
So far during the pandemic Carilion has treated 105 patients who have received positive lab results for the coronavirus. Three of them are currently hospitalized
