Providence cancels public meetings at St. Peter, Centralia hospitals; asks visitors to limit visits
Public meetings have been canceled and visitors are being asked to limit their visits to Providence St. Peter and Centralia hospitals, hospital officials announced late last week.
The move is in response to the coronavirus outbreak in Washington state, which has now claimed 18 lives; 136 people have tested positive for the virus, the state Department of Health announced Sunday. A case has not been confirmed in Thurston or Lewis counties, but four cases have been identified in Pierce County, the data show.
A spokesman for Providence St. Peter Hospital said the decision to cancel public meetings within the hospitals and ask visitors to curtail their visits was not done in response to recent mask thefts. The News Tribune reported Friday, citing an internal hospital memo, that masks at the hospital have gone missing.
Instead, Chris Thomas called the visitor-limiting policy a “preemptive” move by the hospitals.
“The intent is to discourage large groups of people from being in our waiting rooms, cafeterias or other public areas of the hospital,” hospital officials said in a news release.
The hospitals “highly encourage” visitors to be immediate family members or individuals 18 or older. In its birth-related centers, pediatrics and in intensive care units, the hospitals are requiring that all visitors must be 18 or older.
Also:
▪ Visitors are asked to make only necessary visits and to wash their hands when entering the hospital.
▪ Visitors should stay home if they are sick.
▪ Visitors should cough or sneeze into a tissue and throw it away, or cough or sneeze into their elbow.
▪ Visitors should wash or use hand sanitizer frequently, especially when entering or leaving a patient room.
▪ Masks will be provided to patients with respiratory problems.
