MRHS Updates Visitation Hours and COVID-19 Testing Information

Mena Regional Health System continues to provide inpatient and outpatient services for our community. Extreme infection control precautions have been implemented in order to safeguard anyone entering our facilities for care.

The following visitor restriction policy is now in effect until further notice.

Visitation is restricted to 8:00 am – 7:00 pm using the main entrance only. Visitation is restricted to one (1) single visitor per day per patient choice, non-transferable. Visitors must stay in the room and not make multiple trips to decrease traffic through the hospital. If you leave the patient care unit, you will not be allowed to reenter. Visitors under 15 years of age will not be permitted in the facility.

Exceptions to the number of visitor restriction are as follows:

Labor/Delivery patients will be allowed a visitor and labor coach during the Labor/Delivery process. The Postpartum Unit will allow only one (1) visitor.

Senior Behavioral Health and Isolation areas will not be allowed any visitors at any time.

Pediatric patients may have two (2) parents or legal guardians present.

Emergency Department will be limited to one (1) visitor of the patient’s choice, is non-transferable, and must stay in the room and not make multiple trips in and out of the unit.

Mena Medial Associates, Mena Surgical Clinic and Ouachita Rehabilitation Center may have only one (1) visitor. Others must wait outside of clinic.

Diagnostic testing and Therapy (Radiology, Laboratory and Rehabilitation Therapy) may have only one (1) visitor accompany the patients. All others must wait outside of the facility.

All visitors will have their temperature checked prior to entry. Those with fever will not be allowed to enter the premises.

Visitors must be healthy and not have any of the following symptoms:

▪ fever

▪ shortness of breath

▪ cough

▪ symptoms of respiratory illness

▪ close contact with someone who has tested positive or is under quarantine for COVID-19

Overnight visitors are required to stay in the patient’s room at all times and not leave the hospital from 7:00 pm until 8:00 am.

Exception to this policy will be made for end-of-life situations and approved by the Clinical Director.

The Comfort Café Cafeteria will be closed to the public until further notice.

Important COVID-19 Testing Information: The Walk-In Care Center, located inside Mena Medical Associates at 1103 College Drive is one of three local COVID-19 screening sites in Mena. Patients that present to be seen by a healthcare provider at Mena Medical Associates or The Walk-In Care Center, will be screened before entering the facility. If they present with a fever, a front entrance staff member will take their name and date of birth. The patient will be asked to wait in their car until it is time for them to go directly into an examination room. Before entering, the patient will be given a mask to wear inside the facility. Patients that are not presenting with fever or symptoms related to COVID-19 will be allowed to wait in a designated area of the waiting room. Under the guidelines of the Arkansas Department of Health, not all patients with COVID-19 symptoms will be tested. Stringent testing guidelines are designated by the state and are not decided upon by our local clinic providers. If you have knowledge of being exposed to the coronavirus (COVID-19) or become symptomatic, act as if you are infected and self-isolate immediately. Call your local provider before you seek medical attention, unless you have emergency warning signs (such as difficulty breathing), then seek medical attention right away. There is no cure for COVID-19, therefore patients are advised to treat the symptoms at home, keep track of their symptoms and remain isolated to minimize the spread of the virus.

In light of the new evidence that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (asymptomatic) can transmit the virus to others, the CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings, especially in areas of significant community based transmission. The cloth face coverings are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those critical supplies must be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders. At MRHS, we continue to emphasize the critical need for social distancing to slow the spread of the virus.

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