EIRMC will loosen visitor policy starting Tuesday

IDAHO FALLS — As the state is slowly opening up, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is implementing a new, less-restrictive visitor policy beginning Tuesday.

The guidelines will be as follows:

• Each patient is allowed one designated visitor for the duration of their hospital stay. Patients verbally identify their designated visitor and it is documented by the patient care team. Visitors must show ID at the screening station.
• Visitors must be masked while at EIRMC and are encouraged to bring their own mask if they have one.
• Visiting hours are from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Visitors must enter through the main entrance, unless they are visiting an ER patient.
• No visitors under age 18 are permitted.
• Anyone with a fever, cough, shortness of breath, who is awaiting a COVID-19 test result or who has had recent exposure to a COVID-19 positive person is not allowed entry.
• EIRMC has a process to address unique circumstances, such as end-of-life patients, that make visiting a loved one essential.

Since March, almost no visitors have been allowed in the hospital but Coleen Niemann, spokeswoman for the hospital, says visitor policies are being modified to match the level of the COVID-19 situation in the community.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” she says. “We have a responsibility to be mindful and watchful about what is happening in our community and our region. As the state-wide restrictions loosen, and people begin to return to normal operations, we are watching that. This loosening does reflect what is currently happening in our region in a thoughtful and staged approached.”