DCH Coronavirus Update 6-29-22

Update June 29, 2022

Mask and Visitation Update

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) categorizes overall levels of COVID-19 community transmission into low, moderate, substantial and high. Currently Tuscaloosa County is listed as HIGH.

In the current transmission level, masks are required at DCH by employees, physicians, patients and visitors. Except for when eating and drinking or alone in a private office, all individuals must wear a mask at all times while in a DCH facility.

DCH’s limited visitation policy remains in force and will be adjusted based on:

• COVID-19 Community Transmission Rate (as defined by the Alabama Department of Public Health).
• Availability of staffing.
• Availability of personal protective equipment.

Based on the current moderate COVID-19 transmission rate, effective this Friday, July 1 at 12:01 a.m., DCH is modifying its COVID-19 visitation restriction policy.

DCH will continue to allow limited visitation with COVID-19 patients as outlined in the policy at the link below. Each non-COVID-19 positive patient can have up to two support people (with exceptions noted in the policy at the link below) in the patient’s room as long as this can be done without hindering the staff’s ability to provide appropriate care.

Each patient room at DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport Medical Center will have (one or two based on the area) visitation passes available for pickup at the main security entrance for that area. To visit a patient you must have a pass associated with that patient’s room. For another person to visit that patient, the pass must be returned to security as the individual leaves the building. A new person can then check in and receive the visitation pass. If the pass is not returned then the patient can receive no new visitors that day.

The updated policy can be found at https://www.dchsystem.com/covid-19/visitation-policy/.

COVID Update

* To protect patient privacy, DCH has established a minimum threshold of five for reporting numbers of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. If the inpatient total reaches zero then “Five or fewer inpatients” will change to “No inpatients.”

DCH Health System internal counts as of 3:08 p.m. on 6/29a/22:

• 20* inpatients within the DCH system who are positive for COVID-19.
• Five or fewer* inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the ICU.
• Five or fewer* inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are on ventilators.
• 15,133 (cumulative) unique positives for COVID-19 tests including results from the ED, triage tent and inpatient. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 60,316 (cumulative) unique negatives for COVID-19 at DCH sites.
• 18,583 (cumulative) positive COVID-19 at DCH sites. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 138,886 (cumulative) negative tests at DCH sites.
• 5,169 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have been discharged.
• 894 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died at DCH. This is not an indication of the cause of death, only that the individuals were positive for COVID-19 at the time of death.