Re: שפיטעלער - וויאזוי זעהן זיי אויס אין דער מצב?
In breaking news from the Williamsburg Jewish Community Council, WJCC's Executive Director, Rabbi Moshe Indig, shares the welcome news that all New York City hospitals have dropped all COVID-era restrictions and returned to pre-COVID visiting standards.דרייטצעך האט געשריבן:איינער קען ברענגען מער פרטים? דאס איז ערנסט פרייליכע נייעס פאר חולי ישראל ומשמשיהןסעטינגס האט געשריבן:
Hospitals headed by Mount Sinai Medical Center, Columbia Presbyterian, Cornell, and NYU, revoked all COVID restrictions for visitation, effective immediately.
"This is something we have been fighting for since the beginning of COVID," Indig shares exclusively with BoroPark24. "The WJCC, together with many other askunim and organizations like Anash, Hatzolah, Bikur Cholim, Refuah Helpline, Chaim Medical, Chaim Aruchim, and Chesed 24/7, along with the Satmar Rebbetzin have all been working nonstop on this for the past three years."
And as reported on January 14, the dominoes started to fall three weeks after the Thursday, January 5 meeting with the Satmar Rebbetzin, the commissioner of the NYS Department of Health, health organizations, including Bikur Cholim, Hatzolah, and numerous individuals in the medical field, and those dealing with patients in the hospitals year-round which resulted in Lenox Hill Hospital opened its doors to allow 24/7 patient visitation on Monday, January 16. Now, three weeks later, additional inroads have been made.
"This is very great news," says Indig. "Ever since the new governor took office, the WJCC has pushed for this breakthrough. Today's news is about a major accomplishment, baruch Hashem, and reminds us that we should never give up. We want to thank Governor Hochul for working on this initiative with us and pushing it in the right direction. We should only need to visit for simchos!"
"We've also been pushing to allow more than just visitation in the simple sense of the world," Indig says, sharing further WJCC news concerning patient visitation. "Given that 70-80% of patient care is not medical related, we have applied significant efforts for the past few years to encourage hospitals to allow family members to assist in patient care which goes far beyond visiting."
Those efforts have also paid off with the new Family Engagement in Patient Care program that Mount Sinai Hospital is launching as early as this week.
After the successful initial success in getting hospitals to allow visitors, first reported by BoroPark24 here,
this second step takes patient care by visitors even further by allowing family or close friends who want to help to participate in that care by following the new program guidelines in the guidebook.
Patients can now have family/friends assist them with care and feeding, physical therapy, range of motion, hygiene, adjusting pillows/wedges, and so much more.
"This is a win-win for patients and nurses," says Indig, "and a major accomplishment to launch this program in New York City's biggest hospital. We do have to make sure that assisting a patient is done with the utmost respect and appreciation for the nursing staff. The last thing the person who comes to assist should want to do is to step on anyone's toes or intimidate or bother the healthcare staff. Visitors can assist but still need to remember to let the nursing staff do their job and to never cause friction."
Once Mount Sinai has implemented the new program, other hospitals are expected to follow suit returning the "care" back into the health care system at long last.
פון דא און פון דארט!
