In response to increasing safety measures, Alberta Health Services have announced that heightened masking protocols are now compulsory in seven prominent healthcare facilities across the region. The facilities now adhering to these protective measures include the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where the regulations took effect as of October 13th. Other facilities following suit are the University of Alberta Hospital and the Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Misericordia Community Hospital, the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, the Alberta Hospital Edmonton, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
These regulations also extend to the Central Alberta Cancer Centre, situated within the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
Under these new measures, all staff, doctors, volunteers, and contracted workers are required to wear masks in a wide array of locations within the healthcare buildings. These areas include all patient care areas, elevators, stairways, gift shops, cafeterias, and continuing care spaces. However, exceptions are granted in areas with no patient contact, such as break rooms. Here, the wearing of masks remains optional for employees.
Patients, visitors, and support persons are now required to adorn masks in certain key areas such as emergency departments and labour and delivery assessment and triage areas. Notably, it has been made clear by the AHS that these protocol changes will in no way affect patient accessibility to services, ensuring that no patient will be denied care as a result of these increased safety measures.
