By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
One of the big recent events at Northumberland Hills Hospital came May 9, President and Chief Executive Officer Susan Walsh said at the June board meeting, when they reverted to the pre-COVID optional-masking policy.
“NHH will remain a mask-friendly environment and provide masks for all staff, physicians, midwives, volunteers, patients and visitors upon request,” Walsh’s report to the board said.
Point of Care Risk Assessments will still be undertaken to determine what personal protective equipment is required in certain situations, such as when a patient is deemed to have an infectious illness, and in certain instances (such as when a patient shows symptoms of a communicable illness), masks may still be required.
The report quoted staff describing the move as “another part of defining of our new normal,” and thanking health-care teams, visitors and patients whose commitment to masking over the pandemic years helped keep NHH safe for all.
Walsh recalled the board sitting around the table in March 2020 and learning that the COVID-19 outbreak had been designated a pandemic.
“We have reverted back to pre-pandemic levels, although we will never be the same,” she said.
