RAPID CITY, S.D. – Beginning Monday, July 27, hospitalized patients at all five Monument Health hospitals will once again be able to have visitors at their bedside, the health care system announced. In addition, patients who come to Monument Health for emergency medical care, surgery or other procedures will be able to have someone with them.
However, due to the continuing threat of the COVID-19 virus, visitation will be restricted. Visiting hours at the hospitals will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Patients will be limited to one visitor at a time and two visitors in a 24-hour period. In addition, all visitors must be masked. Children under age 16 may visit a hospitalized parent or guardian if accompanied by an adult. The detailed visitor policy is available at monument.health/visitor-policy.
Opening Monument Health hospitals and emergency departments to visitors in Custer, Lead-Deadwood, Rapid City, Spearfish and Sturgis is part of a phased approach to meeting patient needs while keeping patients and caregivers safe from the spread of COVID-19.
“We recognize the emotional and medical value of having someone at your bedside when you’re ill, but it’s vital that we keep COVID-19 out of our hospitals and other facilities,” said Brad Archer, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Monument Health. “We are taking it slow and being very deliberate as we look to safely meet the needs of our patients and families.”
Phase 1 began Monday, July 20, when patients at Monument Health’s John T. Vucurevich Cancer Care Institute in Rapid City were allowed one person with them during their treatment. Future phases, such as allowing visitors in clinics, will be reassessed following the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
