Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Sixteen hospitals in New York state will allow visitors as part of a pilot program addressing the heartbreak of COVID-19 patients suffering while isolated from their families and friends.
Cuomo said visits under the two-week pilot program will be time-limited. Visitors will need to wear protective equipment and will be subject to temperature and symptom checks.
Strict visitation rules were adopted to check the spread of the virus, but they have resulted in painful scenes of patients relying on phones or tablets for emotional conversations with loved ones.
"It is terrible to have someone in the hospital and then that person is isolated, not being able to see their family and friends," Cuomo said.
Nine of the hospitals participating are in New York City, with the rest spread out around the state, including Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center as the only facility in Western New York.
Cuomo made the announcement as COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. There are an average of 335 new hospitals admissions a day.
"I understand the health reasons for that, we were afraid of the virus spread, but this is a pilot project to see if we can bring visitors in and do it safely," says Cuomo. As part of the pilot program, visits will be time limited and visitors will be provided with and must wear PPE and are subject to symptom and temperature checks.
Roswell Park President and CEO Candace Johnson issued this statement: "We welcome and applaud the pilot hospital visitation program announced by Governor Cuomo today, and are pleased to help lead this important effort. Meaningful contact and connection with loved ones can be enormously important for cancer patients and can even help support their recovery, so we welcome the opportunity to be a resource to New York State and hospitals everywhere as we develop best practices on how to safely reintegrate some of the comforts and supports our patients were able to take advantage of before the COVID crisis. We are still determining the details of how and when we will begin to expand the ability for loved ones to visit inpatients who are admitted to Roswell Park."
