Thursday, December 2, 2021
Greater Sudbury – Beginning November 22, visitors and Designated Care Partners will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, or an approved medical exemption, along with government-issued photo I.D., in order to visit with patients at all Health Sciences North (HSN) facilities. This requirement will not apply to patients -- and no patients will be denied care or service due to their vaccination status.
“We know vaccinations help prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Dominic Giroux, HSN President and CEO. “Many of our patients have compromised immune systems and we want to do all we can to protect them, prevent potential COVID-19 outbreaks and reduce the chances of any possible transmission of the virus in our facilities. This is why HSN is making proof of vaccination a requirement for all visitors coming to our facilities.”
Exceptions to the proof of vaccination requirement will be made for people visiting in the following circumstances based on compassionate reasons:
- Parents/Guardians of patients under 18 years of age;
- Designated Care partners of patients in labour and delivery;
- Designated Care partners and visitors of patients who are in a mental health crisis have a life-threatening emergency or a new life-altering or critical illness diagnoses where family presence is vital for the patient, family and or care team;
- Designated Care partners and visitors of patients with a prognosis of 48-72 hours to live;
- Designated Care partners accompanying patients with communication, language barriers, physical or cognitive impairments;
- All visitors under the age of 12 and not yet eligible for vaccination.
Visitors who are not fully vaccinated, who do not have a medical exemption and who do not meet exception criteria will not be able to visit in-person. All visitors, regardless of vaccination status, continue to be required to follow our visitor guidelines when in the hospital including passing COVID-19 screening, wearing a mask at all times, maintaining physical distancing and following rules about visiting hours.
HSN will be using the Verify Ontario Mobile App to check a visitor’s QR Code before entering the hospital. It should be noted that HSN does not keep or track information as part of this process.
If you have received your COVID-19 vaccine but do not have proof of vaccination, you can retrieve your confirmation receipt by visiting covid19.ontariohealth.ca and following the step-by-step instructions. If you do not have a valid health card, please call the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line at 1-833-943-3900. This line is available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 7 days a week.
*Please note this date has been revised from December 6 to November 22 due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in Greater Sudbury*