Kaweah Health changing some visitor policies as number of COVID-19 patients decrease

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Since the pandemic started about two years ago, visitor guidelines have shifted in hospitals.

Starting Tuesday, Kaweah Health Medical Center made some changes to allow patients to see more of their loved ones while they are admitted.

"We are taking small steps and trying to put compassion first, putting the patient and family at the center of our decision," says Kaweah Health CEO Gary Herbst.

New guidelines allow non-COVID patients a different visitor each day during visitor hours whereas before, only the same person could visit each day.

For COVID patients, guidelines remain the same unless an exception applies, including a change in care level.

Herbst says with COVID cases decreasing overall across the county and vaccination rates increasing, they're hopeful numbers will continue moving in the right direction.

They're also keeping an eye on information about the Omicron variant, and reminding everyone to get the vaccine and continue taking precautions.

The Tulare County Health Department says it is bracing for a potential uptick in the next few weeks and believes the Omicron variant could already be present in the community.

"We just have yet to detect it throughout our efforts, so we continue to urge everyone to take the measures to protect yourself and take those precautions during the holidays," says Carrie Monteiro.

Currently, 47% of Tulare County is fully vaccinated and 54% of residents have one dose of the vaccine.

If more people get their vaccine, it will reduce their chance of getting the virus and help keep hospitals from being overwhelmed.

"This virus is going to impact those who are not vaccinated and we still have a large number of Tulare County residents who are not vaccinated," Monteiro said.

If you plan to visit your loved one here at Kaweah Health, visitors will be screened for COVID symptoms and required to wear a mask.

They must also be fully vaccinated or test negative for COVID 72 hours before showing up.