Local hospitals make adjustments to mask mandate

Two hospitals in Kitchener and Guelph are making changes to their masking requirements.

St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener will no longer require masks in most settings, while Guelph General Hospital is phasing in its new masking policy.

Hospitals under the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance will also see eased masking mandates in in non-clinical areas - such as hallways.

ST. MARY’S SHIFTING TO ‘MASK-FRIENDLY’ POLICY

As of Monday, St. Mary’s said it is shifting from universal masking to a “mask-friendly” policy.

The hospital said in a release that it is making the move in order to balance the needs of patients along with its responsibility to keep patients and staff safe.

It says visitors, care partners patients, volunteers and team members will no longer be required to wear masks in hallways, meetings, breakrooms, shared offices and most clinical areas.

The hospital said patients and care partners can request that anyone in their presence wear a mask and care partners and staff may be required to wear a mask when interacting with a patient in isolation, the hospital said.

“We want to make sure people still know that hospitals are still safe places to come,” said Mark Fam, president of St. Mary’s General Hospital.

“We will adapt to meet what our patients’ needs are and make sure that they are still well cared for and taken care of.”

According to the hospital, patients coming to the emergency department with a respiratory illness will be asked to wear a mask and the hospital may introduce universal masking depending on disease activity.

Fam said patients and visitors could be required to go back to a universal mask mandate in the future.

“We expect to be back in to more fulsome masking in the fall as respiratory season starts,” Fam said.

The hospital said it will continue to make masks available.

GRAND RIVER HOSPITAL

Grand River Hospital in Kitchener said after reviewing the latest public health guidelines, it has plans in place to shift its masking guidelines.

"With the new framework coming in, we wanted to make sure we were responsive to it and also focused on patient safety,” said Paul McIntyre Royston, chief communications officer for Grand River Hospital. “You know, since the beginning of COVID that's been a massive priority."

The hospital will be begin phasing out the mask mandate at its facilities but it will still be enforced at the chemotherapy suite at the Cancer Centre.

“You know, it's really, really important, obviously. There's reduced immune system issues and so we really want to be sensitive to that," Royston said.

GUELPH GENERAL HOSPITAL BEGINS PHASING OUT MASKS

Guelph General Hospital is also bringing in a new, “mask-friendly” approach, but will be doing so in two phases.

There's increased immunity in our community, increased vaccines, it’s not a high-risk season in terms of respiratory illnesses right now,” Karen Suk-Patrick, vice-president of people and support services at GGH, told CTV News.

As part of phase one, the hospital said as of Monday, staff, patients, caregivers and volunteers will no longer be required to wear a mask in non-clinical settings. This includes spaces such as hallways, meeting rooms and shared offices.

Masks will still be required in clinical areas like nursing stations and patient rooms, according to the hospital.

The hospital said phase two would be introduced after monitoring respiratory illness in the hospital community and it is deemed safe to do so.

In phase two, staff, patients, families, caregivers and volunteers would no longer be required to wear a mask in clinical areas.

The hospital said it remains ready to ramp up efforts to ensure both staff and patients remain safe.

“If there’s an increase in staff illness, if there’s any outbreaks, if there’s any changes in communicable diseases in the community,” said Suk-Patrick.

CAMBRIDGE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

As of Monday evening, Cambridge Memorial Hospital said universal masking is still required in all areas. Officials with the hospital said the policy is being discussed this week.

HURON PERTH HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE

On Monday, the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) said masking will remain mandatory in all clinical areas of hospitals – meaning inpatient units, emergency departments, outpatient clinics, imaging, labs and waiting rooms.

Masking will be required when in any clinical area of the hospitals and recommended, but not required, in non-clinical areas. Hospital-provided medical-grade masks will continue to be provided with masking stations set up throughout HPHA hospital sites, not just at entrances.

This means masks will not be required in areas such as hallways.

“Masks continue to be a key tool for infection prevention and control,” said Erica Jensen, manager of quality, patient safety and infection control in a news release. “But with risks being lower right now, due to the fact that the vast majority of Ontarians have been either vaccinated or exposed to the virus, our masking guidelines can be relaxed slightly.”