PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — On Tuesday, March 17, Northern Light AR Gould Hospital announced it was extensively curtailing the number of patients and visitors entering its facility to reduce the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus and prepare for when it spreads locally.
Dr. Jay Reynolds, senior physician executive at the hospital, the largest in Aroostook County, said the hospital made the changes so it could use its resources to help patients who will require it most “when COVID-19 reaches our community.”
AR Gould said it was canceling all non-essential patient interactions, including standard physicals, lab tests and check-ups, for those without acute medical needs for at least the next two weeks. Visitors will also be severely limited, and all who enter the building screened for symptoms connected to COVID-19.
All primary care appointments for those without acute medical needs and aged 5 and above will not be rescheduled by staff until after the health crisis is over, the hospital said. Other meetings deemed non-essential, including elective surgeries, wellness visits and non-urgent lab tests, will also be postponed.
Visitors will not be allowed in the emergency or walk-in care departments besides the parent of a pediatric patient. End-of-life patients in the emergency department can also be visited by a loved one.
For inpatient units, including the surgical, critical care, women and children and acute rehabilitation units, one visitor will be allowed per patient. Visitors to those facilities must be 16 years old or older and need to be identified to staff before the visit. They can also only stay in the hospital from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The hospital also asked that patients with respiratory illnesses planning to report to the walk-in care and emergency departments call the departments before they do so. It said the advanced notice would ensure that staff appropriately screen patients before they enter the building.
The hospital will also be limiting the public’s access to the facility: all entrances besides the main Levesque and emergency department entrances will be closed until further notice.
Reynolds said he understood that many of the changes would be “inconvenient” for patients and staff alike. But he said they were necessary to reduce the spread of the virus and help future patients who will have it.
“We hope to return things to normal as soon as we can,” Reynolds said.
