No Visitors Allowed At RWJBarnabas Hospitals As COVID Cases Surge

Alexis Tarrazi
·3 min read

NEW JERSEY — All Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas healthcare facilities are restricting visitors beginning on Sunday due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the community.

"The safety and well-being of our patients, visitors and staff is our number one priority," according to the healthcare system.

No visitors will not be allowed beginning Sunday, Dec. 26, until further notice in every RWJBarnabas Health hospital and healthcare facility including inpatient acute care, Emergency Departments, Behavioral Health and outpatient services.

"We encourage family members and friends to use alternative ways to interact with their loved ones, including phone calls, Facetime, Skype and other means," said the healthcare system.

There are some limited exceptions including:

  • Pediatric units (only ONE parent/guardian will be permitted)

  • Maternity and Labor & Delivery units (only ONE significant other/support person is permitted)

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Units (TWO parents/support persons are permitted)

  • Pediatric psychiatric patients (Only ONE if/when a mutual agreement between the care team and the parents/guardian has been reached)

  • Patients with disabilities where the disability may be due to altered mental status, intellectual or cognitive disability, communication barriers or behavioral concerns (ONE designated support person is allowed to remain with the patient).

  • All visitors 18 years of age and under will not be permitted

The healthcare system will consider adjusting these rules for extenuating circumstances and individual requests including but are not limited to:

  • Patients on hospice or at the end of life

  • Patients who are critically unstable

  • Patients undergoing surgery or procedures (ONE single-time visitor immediately after the procedure may be permitted)

  • Patients in need of a medical guardian or decision-maker

  • At the discretion of the hospital, one visitor may be able to accompany a patient in Ambulatory Care or other outpatient areas.

All approved visitors will be screened before entering and must wear a mask at all times and should wash their hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer before and after visiting.

In addition to the above, people will be prohibited from gathering in family lounges, waiting areas, the lobby, cafeteria or restaurants on campus.

These visitation changes come after New Jersey hit a record number of cases for the second day in a row. On Thursday, the state reported 15,482 new COVID-19 virus cases in one day and also 33 new deaths. Read More: NJ Breaks Coronavirus Case Record For Second Straight Day

This new record is almost 6,000 more than the previous record on Wednesday, when New Jersey reported 9,711 cases.

For a full list of RWJBH hospitals and facilities visit rwjbh.org/our-locations.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

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This article originally appeared on the Hillsborough Patch