COVID-19 Visitor & Safety Protocols

COVID-19 has not stopped Good Shepherd Hospice from caring for patients in the comfort of their home and in our dedicated inpatient hospice units in Port Jefferson and Rockville Centre.

Our practices and protocols ensure the safety of those we care for during every visit and to keep our program strong, safe and effective, including:

• Screening all patients and family members prior to each visit to make sure all the right infection control precautions are used during the visit.
• Staff wearing masks and personal protective equipment when caring for patients who are COVID-19 positive or are suspected to have COVID-19. 
• Staff are no longer mandated to wear masks in the home or the hospice units but may choose to continue wearing masks based on personal preference or perceived level of risk for infection.  
• Patients and their family members in the home do not have to wear a face covering when hospice personnel are in the home.
• If the community transmission rate changes to high, all staff will wear masks and we will request the same of our family members. 
• When we care for COVID-19 patients, our staff will use disposable or dedicated equipment for that person, such as stethoscopes, and we carefully dispose of all personal protective equipment outside the home once our visit is complete.
• We are scheduling COVID-19 patient visits at the end of the day so there’s no danger of exposure to other patients.
• Our two inpatient units have dedicated private rooms for patients. Family can continue to visit their loved ones. We are also prepared to provide family members with all required personal protective equipment if their loved one has COVID-19. 
• Wearing a face covering when visiting one of the in-patient hospice units is not required unless a visitor is noted to have a cough or obvious signs of a respiratory infection (e.g., congestion, hoarse voice). That visitor will be asked to wear a mask. All visitors are asked not to enter the inpatient hospice unit if they have a temperature greater than 100 Fahrenheit or exhibit signs of acute illness such as cough and shortness of breath.
  • For questions, please call the Inpatient Hospice Unit at:
    • Port Jefferson: 631-642-4200                                                               
    • Rockville Centre: 516-517-7000

It is our privilege and honor to serve our community and those needing hospice and palliative care.
 
Please call 631-465-6363 if you, or someone you know, needs hospice or palliative care.

Kim Kranz, RN, MS

President, Good Shepherd Hospice & Catholic Health Home Care