Maimonides Medical Center Joins Other Hospitals to Allow Visitors in Two-Week Pilot Program
Maimonides Medical Center, a hospital located in Boro Park, and used by many within the community, is joining 15 other hospitals statewide in a two-week plot program that will allow some visitors to enter hospitals and be with their loved ones for a limited time.
The new guidance, announced on Tuesday by Governor Cuomo, will allow family of loved ones to enter hospitals, with proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and temperature checks upon entering the facility. The hospital said an announcement about when this program starts will be shared with the community in the near future, as details about the program are being finalized.
“We in Maimonides are incredibly pleased to be part of this important step forward,” Ken Gibbs, President and CEO of Maimonides Medical Center, told BoroPark24. “One of the most painful aspects of this pandemic has been the need for the no-visitors policy, it has caused great anguish in the community and taken a vital part of the healing process away from patients.”
“It’s a great step forward that we are now at the point where we can begin to pilot processes to open up our health care institutions to visitors, and we look forward to the point where we fully have that visitation right restored,” Mr. Gibbs added.
The move reverses previous guidance issued by the Governor at the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic that banned any visitors from entering hospitals for most patients, a move that has been called misguided by many elected officials.
The move to allow visitation has been praised by Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein and others, as a step in the right direction by connecting patients to their family. "I am glad and grateful that Governor Cuomo has finally heard our call and is taking a first step by implementing this pilot program in which family members will now be allowed limited visitation at specific hospitals. I believe this expansion will also greatly enhance many patient’s chances for a full recovery - implementing safety measures that will offer immeasurable comfort to the patients and their family members,” said Assemblyman Eichenstein.