Family Presence Moves from Level 2 to Level 1 in Regina Acute Care Hospitals

Effective Wednesday, November 10, family presence in acute care hospitals in Regina will move from Level 2 to Level 1, with some exceptions.

Pasqua Hospital/Regina General Hospital

• Move to Level 1. Every inpatient, outpatient or resident can have two essential family/support persons designated. One person can visit at a time.

Exceptions:

• Critical Care units remain at Temporary Surge Restrictions.
  • ICU, ICU surge, cardiac care, cardio-sciences: Two essential family/support persons can be designated with one present at a time.
  • End-of-life or palliative care: More than two essential family/support persons can be designated and two can be present at the same time.
  • Maternal, postpartum and pediatric units: Two essential family/support persons can be present at the same time. Support phone/virtual connections with family where possible.
• COVID Unit 5E – Level 2: All patients can designate one essential family/support person(s) to provide in-person support for care and/or quality of life needs. Timing and frequency of family presence to be determined in collaboration with the staff, patient, and essential family/support person based on patient needs and considerations of care team/service area.
• Any unit on outbreak status will move to Level 3 (end of life reasons only). Examples include, but are not limited to: palliative care, hospice care or those who are at high risk for loss of life, dramatic shift in the functioning of a patient or patient unlikely to leave hospital. 

Note: All long-term care (LTC) homes will remain at the Recovery Phase, except for facilities on outbreak, which will move to Level 2.

For more information on family presence, please visit saskhealthauthority.ca.

• All essential family/support people and visitors need to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination Without a proof of vaccination, family/support people and visitors may provide a negative PCR or a rapid antigen test, performed in the last 72 hours by an approved third-party provider. These services are user pay and a list of providers is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website.   
• There are exemptions in place for end of life and urgent/emergent care. For LTC, planned care appointments, admissions and surgery, if there is no option for a vaccinated/tested negative family or support person, one designated family member/support person is permitted without proof of vaccination or a negative test (in discussion with the care team). Additional precautions may be required.

Stick it to COVID! Get Vaccinated!
Vaccines are proven to be effective in protecting individuals from serious illness and death due to COVID, and high vaccination rates in our province will help curb the spread and help us return to normal.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is holding pop-up and walk-in vaccination clinics throughout the province, targeting under- and unvaccinated communities. With increased demand for vaccination, the SHA is adding vaccination clinics. Watch for details on clinic locations and times are listed on the SHA website. Please note clinics are subject to change based on demand, weather, etc.  Any changes to clinic hours and location will be updated online.

A map of pharmacies participating in COVID-19 vaccinations is available at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-pharmacies. 

All members of the public are also reminded of the following:

• COVID-19 is transmitted through coughing and sneezing (aerosol and droplet transmission), and by touching surfaces with the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands.
• Memorize and recognize the symptoms:  fever, cough, headache, muscle and/or joint aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose, nasal congestion, conjunctivitis, dizziness, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite (difficulty feeding for children), loss of sense of taste or smell, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing. Stay home if you have symptoms and monitor yourself.
• Get tested: If you are symptomatic, a close contact of a confirmed case or determined to be at-risk, call Call HealthLine 811 or your physician for a referral or visit your local drive-thru testing site.
• Care for yourself and others: Anyone at any age can contract COVID-19. Be kind to each other and to health-care workers.
• Download the COVID-19 Alert app: The Health Canada COVID Alert app is available to all Saskatchewan residents at no cost in the Apple and Google Play app store. The app is another tool available to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by letting people know of possible exposures without sharing any personal information. For more information, visit the visit the COVID-19 Apps webpage