St. Joe’s in Hamilton implements mandatory vaccination policy for visitors

One of Hamilton’s two major hospital networks is now asking visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering their facilities.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare put the policy in place as of Friday, and it applies to all visitors, caregivers and support people.

“Fully vaccinated visitors coming to hospital must provide a vaccination receipt or QR code with government-issued ID,’ spokesperson Maria Hayes said in a release on Dec. 17.

“We understand this may be a difficult step for some, but view it is a necessary measure to protect our patients and staff from the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreading across our region.”

The agency says the reasoning is similar to the Ontario government’s mandated vaccinations for visitors at Long-Term Care Homes (LTCH) since many patients present “similar frailties.”

Visitors unable to show proof of full vaccination will be denied entry to the hospital, with limited exceptions.

Other Ontario networks, like London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), have implemented similar visitor vaccination policies.

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As of Nov. 1, LHSC is only allowing fully vaccinated “care partners” for visits or to accompany patients.

The St. Joe’s latest policy is much less stringent than tactics taken by both the city’s hospitals in the spring of 2020 when they didn’t allow visitors at all, with exceptions for compassionate grounds and new births.

A spokesperson for Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) says in light of the recent uptick in Hamilton’s case numbers, management is looking at its visitor policy as well.

“We are reviewing our visitor policy in light of the current epidemiology and will communicate changes with our patients, families, and community if/as they are made,” spokesperson Wendy Stewart said in an email.

Combined, both St. Joe’s and HHS saw another slight decrease in COVID-19 patients at the hospitals on Friday with a day over day drop to 25 from 27. There are fewer than five patients in ICUs.

Public health is still characterizing that number of admissions as “low” with an average of less than one new entry per day.