To our FHW Patient Families & Caregivers,
As a follow-up to yesterday’s announcement about patient visitations – currently, hospital inpatient visits continue as they have and guidelines at this time have not changed. Visitors will be allowed in and the visitation schedule people are accustomed to will continue until a confirmed case of the omicron variant is officially reported in Mesa County. Upon a confirmed case of the COVID-19 omicron variant virus in Mesa County, visitation for hospital patients will be significantly reduced.
It is important to us that patients, caregivers, family members, staff, and our community are not caught off guard by a sudden change in visitation practices at the Family Health West (FHW) hospital. And frankly, more important to that message is the care and wellbeing of our patients and staff, the reason for all this communication, planning, and heightened awareness about the impacts of this new variant.
As you’ve likely heard in the news, the omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout the country. FHW leadership and staff would not be fulfilling our mission if we did not plan ahead in preparation for this highly contagious variant to also significantly impact our community. To continue providing the best care in the safest environment for our patients and staff changes will have to be made both internally and externally to mitigate the potential staffing shortages and patient surges currently being seen in neighboring communities.
To reiterate, at this time, no new restrictions or changes have been implemented to the visitation standards and guidelines for patients at the Family Health West hospital. Upon the confirmation of the omicron variant in Mesa County, visitation practices will be adjusted. This communication is meant to proactively set the expectations for in-person visitations for the next few weeks.
This change will not be made lightly, and the gravity of this decision and its implementation is completely in an effort to keep our patients healthy and allow them to return home at the end of their necessary stay with FHW. Gambling with this virus is not something FHW is willing to do when patient and staff safety is at stake.
We are grateful for your grace and understanding as we navigate this ever-changing situation. We encourage you to connect with us directly for information related to patient visitation and specific details about Family Health West and to be mindful of future communication from us. Our patient liaison, Errol Snider, can be reached at 970-260-1110 or [email protected]. This information and future updates impacting the public can be found in multiple places, including the front of our hospital, on our website (www.fhw.org), on our Facebook account- Family Health West, and through our local media.
We truly look forward to the future communication and day when visitation with our patients is no longer restricted.
Kindly,
Dr. Korrey Klein, Lori Randall, Dr. Christopher Taggart, and FHW leadership
