Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital recently issued the following announcement.
Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital (NNRH) announced today the reopening of its main entrance for use by patients and visitors. For nearly two years – since April of 2020 – everyone arriving at the hospital has been required to report to the Emergency Department entrance for COVID-19 screenings. Now, outpatients and visitors may use the main entrance and undergo screening at the front information desk. The main entrance will remain open Monday through Friday, from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“We’re very happy to open the front doors again,” declared Steve Simpson, chief executive officer at NNRH. “Anything we can do to make life easier for our patients while still maintaining a safe environment is a win in our book.”
Simpson said the hospital’s main entrance was originally closed to ensure patient safety as Elko County was experiencing its initial wave of COVID-19 infections in the spring of 2020.
“We needed to control the flow of traffic in order to ensure that everyone entering our facility was screened for symptoms of COVID-19,” Simpson explained. “We’re still required by the State of Nevada to screen everyone, but we have streamlined our process and can now meet that requirement at both the main entrance and the ER. This will speed-up the check-in process at both locations while continuing to keep everyone safe.”
While the main entrance is now open, other safety precautions remain in place at NNRH. Facemasks are still required for everyone inside the hospital – patients, visitors and staff alike. Physical distancing is still mandatory in all common areas. And patients are still limited to receiving one healthy visitor per day between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. For more information on visitation at NNRH, please read our revised visitor policy.
“We realize this isn’t the end of COVID precautions across the board,” Simpson stated. “We must continue to be vigilant and safeguard the health of our most vulnerable community members. But opening the front doors feels like a big step in the right direction. It feels like a step back toward normalcy.”
Original source can be found here.