Piedmont hospitals requiring visitors, patients to wear medical masks due to omicron

Tamari Perrineau
·2 min read

Piedmont Healthcare now requires visitors and patients to its two Macon hospitals to wear medical-grade masks rather than cloth ones to “prevent the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.”

The requirement impacts Piedmont Macon Medical Center and Piedmont Macon North Hospital (formerly Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital). Visitors and patients need to wear surgical masks, KN95 or N95 masks. If a visitor or patient does not have the appropriate mask, hospital staff will provide one.

“Our shift toward the exclusive use of these forms of masks is in the best interest of the health and wellness of our patients, staff, and all those within our facilities as we seek to provide the best possible protection against the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” said Dr. Gary Bernstein, Piedmont Macon chief medical officer.

Georgia’s Department of Public Health reported 11,573 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, and Bibb County has reported 2,421 cases in the past two weeks.

Kroger announced it would start providing non-surgical N95 masks to customers on Jan. 27 as part of a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Customers can get up to three N95 masks at pharmacies, from branded displays or by asking associates.

Piedmont Healthcare enforces the following visitation policies:

  • Patients admitted to the hospital, surgery/procedure patients and labor/delivery/postpartum patients can have TWO visitors during visiting hours of 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

  • Emergency Room patients can have ONE visitor 24/7 unless the decision has been made to admit, then visiting hours of 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. will apply.

  • Overnight visitors are not allowed unless approved by the administrator on call in advance.

  • Surgical or medical (e.g. KN95, N95) masks must be worn at all times when in the facility. Cloth masks will no longer be an option for patients, visitors or staff.

  • No visitation is allowed for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in all areas.