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New Jersey hospitals have a new color-coded visitation system

The hospitals are already at code yellow.

New Jersey hospitals and the New Jersey Hospital Association have created a standardized visitation policy based on coronavirus risk levels in surrounding communities.
New Jersey hospitals and the New Jersey Hospital Association have created a standardized visitation policy based on coronavirus risk levels in surrounding communities.Read moreiStock

New Jersey hospitals and the New Jersey Hospital Association have created a standardized visitation policy based on coronavirus risk levels in surrounding communities.

The color-coded risk levels also consider the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, staffing levels, and supplies of masks, gloves, and gowns.

The policy, now in effect, is meant to balance the support that visitors can supply with the safety of patients and staff.

Hospitals in the state have been assigned to four regions that will have red, yellow, or green visitation codes. Everyone is starting at the yellow level, which limits most patients without COVID-19 to one visitor at a time. Individual hospitals can move to red if numbers are especially high in the neighborhoods they serve, but they have agreed not to relax the rules.

Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties are in the southwest region.

Visitors, who will be required to wear protective equipment and be monitored for fever, will want to check regulations before heading for the hospital.

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania did not respond to a question about whether it has a similar program.

At all three levels, COVID-19 and immunocompromised patients cannot have visitors unless the care team approves them. Exceptions include people who are dying or have cognitive disabilities as well as women in labor.

During the green phase, most patients can have two visitors at a time. In the red phase, no visitors are allowed, with limited exceptions for children, pregnant women, patients at the end of life, and those with cognitive problems.