Elizabethtown, NY – On Tuesday, November 30, the University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital updated its visitor policy as a preventive measure to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

The temporary change allows hospitalized patients to have one visitor between 12:30 to 2:30 pm and 4:30 to 6:30 pm. One support person may accompany patients in the emergency department, outpatient clinics, and health centers.

“The health and safety of our patients, staff, and community is our highest priority,” said Elizabethtown Community Hospital Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Julie Tromblee. “We made the decision to limit visitation in response to the continued high prevalence of COVID-19 -- above 7% community transmission -- in our region.”  

Since March, 2020, ECH has implemented the following safety protocols:

• All employees arriving for work are screened with health questions and a temperature check.
• All arriving patients are screened upon entry. Patients with symptoms or suspected exposure to a COVID-positive case are treated in dedicated rooms.
• Strictly following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State Department of Health guidelines on personal protective equipment. All employees are required to wear masks.
• Enhanced cleaning protocols, including frequent sanitization of high-touch surfaces.

Special considerations for pediatric patients, end of life care patients, and patients with an intellectual, developmental, or cognitive disability are included in the updated visitor policy. The temporary visitor restriction will be reassessed in the coming weeks to determine when it will be appropriate to return to limited visitation. More info: Elizabethtown Community Hospital | Visiting Hours (ech.org)

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About Elizabethtown Community Hospital

The University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital is a designated critical access hospital and the primary health care provider serving the 39,000 people who live, work and vacation in Essex County, NY and the surrounding region.

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is transforming rural health care at its main campus in Elizabethtown, NY, at a new emergency department and outpatient center at the former Moses Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga, NY, and at six community-based primary health care centers located throughout the region.  The hospital is one of the community’s largest employers with 360 employees.

Across the Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga campuses, the hospital maintains two 24-hour emergency rooms, a 25-bed inpatient unit, physical therapy, laboratory, and digital radiology departments, and a variety of specialty physician clinics on a weekly and monthly basis.  

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and is licensed and certified by the New York State Department of Health and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

About The University of Vermont Health Network
The University of Vermont Health Network is an academic health system that is comprised of six affiliate hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and a home health agency. We serve the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives.  Our partners include:

• The University of Vermont Medical Center  
• The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health and Hospice

Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our hospitals remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.