January 19, 2021 – As the number of COVID-19 inpatients decreases and the state lifts mitigation efforts in Central Illinois, Memorial Health Systems is easing some of its visitor restrictions at its five hospitals beginning tomorrow, January 20. Those hospitals include Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, Decatur Memorial Hospital, Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville, and Taylorville Memorial Hospital. The hospitals will begin allowing one visitor at a time for adult inpatients between 8 am and 8 pm.
The hospitals will allow one support person and one additional visitor for inpatient obstetrics patients. Those two people must be the same for the duration of the visit. There will continue to be no visitors allowed for patients being treated for COVID-19 or patients being evaluated for the virus until a COVID infection is ruled out. All visitors must wear a face covering that covers their nose and mouth at all times while in the hospitals.
“We understand that these visitor restrictions have been challenging for patients and their families, but our first priority has been to keep our patients and our frontline healthcare workers safe from this virus,” Dr. Raj Govindaiah, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Memorial Health System, said. “As our numbers for positive test results for COVID-19 go down and as we are seeing fewer patients in our hospitals, we are able to ease our visitor restrictions,” he said. “However, it’s vital that we all remain vigilant by wearing our masks, watching our distance, washing our hands, and avoiding large gatherings.”
Other visitor guidelines will remain in place.
