Coronavirus (COVID-19) Preparedness Information

Southern Tennessee Regional Health System-Winchester/Sewanee (STRHS) is committed to providing the highest quality care and ensuring the safety of our patients, employees, providers, volunteers and visitors. We are continuing to monitor the evolving situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) and are taking the necessary steps to ensure we are fully prepared to care for patients, in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in partnership with our local and state health departments.

Below are a number of resources to help educate you and your family on COVID-19. For more information on the virus, please contact the Franklin County Health Department.

QUICK LINKS:

VISITOR POLICY:

At Southern Tennessee Regional Health System, our top priority is safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our patients, providers, employees, and community. We continue to closely monitor the prevalence of coronavirus (COVID-19) in our community and follow state and federal guidance as we adapt our operations to safely care for and support our patients. Our visitor policy is as follows (PLEASE NOTE: THIS POLICY IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME - PLEASE CALL 931.967.8200 FOR MOST UP-TO-DATE POLICY):

Effective September 10, 2021, STRHS-Winchester's visitor guidelines, are as follows:

All visitors, unless noted otherwise, must be age 12 or older. Visitors will be required to self-screen for symptoms consistent with COVID-19, per CDC guidelines. STRHS-Winchester/Sewanee remains at universal masking and all patients, visitors, employees, and medical staff must wear a face mask while in our facilities.

Medical/Surgical Unit- Visitation hours are 9:00 am -5:00 pm, seven days a week and one support person may stay overnight with the patient. No more than one (1) WELL visitor per patient at one time (visitor may rotate).
ICU- One (1) WELL visitor permitted for thirty minutes at the visitation times of 5:00 am, 10:30 am, 2:00 pm, and 5:30 pm. ICU patients may have one support person outside of these visiting hours.
Senior Advantage- One (1) WELL visitor permitted Monday-Friday 4:00 pm-6:00 pm. On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays visitors permitted 10:00 am-12:00 pm and 4:00 pm-6:00 pm.
The Childbirth Center -
- Visitors during labor are limited to two at one time. These visitors may rotate. There will be no standing, sitting, or loitering in the hallways, extra visitors will be asked to wait in their cars.
- Postpartum visitors are limited to two at one time. These visitors may rotate. There will be no standing, sitting, or loitering in the hallways, extra visitors will be asked to wait in their cars.
- Siblings may visit postpartum; however, no other children under age 12 will be permitted.
- Only one support person may stay with the patient overnight.
Skilled Nursing Facility- Following state guidelines and is currently allowing scheduled outdoor visits. Details can be found here. Please call 931.967.8249 for more information.
Inpatient Rehab- One (1) WELL visitors permitted Monday-Friday 5:00 pm-9:00 pm, Saturday 2:00 pm-9:00 pm, and Sunday 12:00 pm-9:00 pm.
Radiology- Patients are limited to one (1) WELL visitor.
Same-Day Surgery- Patients are limited to one (1) WELL visitor.
Emergency Department - Patients are limited to one (1) WELL visitor.
Visitors are NOT allowed for high-risk, isolation, immunocompromised, or respiratory patients who are under observation or test positive for COVID-19.

Thank you for your continued understanding and cooperation as we work to maintain a safe environment for our patients and team.

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES:

Ensuring the safety of our patients and staff members is always our first priority. We have been preparing for COVID-19 in our community for several weeks, building upon the robust emergency operations plan we have in place year-round. To protect our patients and staff members while treating patients for COVID-19 we have implemented the following precautionary measures:

To protect our community and all who need medical care, all our positive or suspected COVID-19 patients are isolated on a specialized unit that is disconnected from the remainder of our hospital. Negative-pressure air units are in place to ensure that the airflow from these areas of the hospital remains separate from our other patient, visitor and staff areas.
In response to the declaration of a national emergency due to COVID-19, we activated our Emergency Operations Plan on March 13, 2020 and have opened an Incident Command Center at STRHS-Winchester.
A COVID-19 Medical Staff Task Force has been assembled to handle clinical care pathways and ensure continuity of physician coverage during this crisis.
We have added additional security around the clock to ensure protection of our patients and staff.
We are taking extra precautions to keep all our non-COVID-19 areas clean. Nursing, physician and all additional staff for COVID-19 patient areas are ONLY working in COVID-19 patient areas and are not traveling to other areas of the hospital.
The hospital, hospital outpatient departments, and physician practices/clinics are screening all individuals who enter our facilities, per CDC guidelines – including patients, physicians, visitors (if appropriate), vendors and staff – based on potential symptoms and fever.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: