Northwest Arkansas hospitals are relaxing visitor policies as the number of hospitalized covid-19 patients continues to decline.
Thirty-four patients in Northwest Arkansas were hospitalized with covid-19 on Friday, up from 31 a week earlier. The all-time high was 173 patients on Aug. 11.
Non-covid patients at Washington Regional, Mercy and Northwest Health facilities are allowed two visitors at a time instead of one per day, and visiting hours have been expanded.
Washington Regional announced on Nov. 4 the hospital will be extending visitor hours to 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and allowing all non-covid patients to have as many visitors as they would like; however, only two visitors will be allowed at a time, according to a news release.
Patients at the hospital for outpatient procedures or emergency care also will be allowed two visitors. Visitors will still be required to wear a face mask, the release states.
Covid-19 patients will be allowed visitors only on a case-by-case basis when receiving end-of-life care, the release states.
Northwest Health updated its visitor policies on Nov. 1 to allow both covid and non-covid patients two visitors at a time, said spokeswoman Abby Davenport.
The health system, which has five hospitals in Northwest Arkansas, constantly monitors the number of cases and hospitalizations in the community and adjusts policies in response to the latest federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, she said.
Visiting hours have been expanded to 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for intensive care unit patients.
Mercy hospitals in Rogers and Fort Smith began allowing two visitors per day this week, said spokeswoman Mardi Taylor.
Visitation hours differ slightly for each location, she said. In Rogers, hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and in Fort Smith hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., she said.
Baptist Health, which has locations in Fort Smith and Van Buren, continues to allow only one support person or visitor, according to the hospital website.
New cases
Benton County had 85 new cases of covid-19 on Friday, the most in the state. It was followed by Pulaski County with 45 cases and Sebastian County with 28 cases, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
Washington County reported 26 new cases and Crawford County reported nine, said Danyelle McNeill, public information officer for the department.
Hospitals in Northwest Arkansas had 103 patients in ICU and 34 patients on ventilators Friday, according to the Northwest Arkansas Council. The numbers include patients with covid-19 and other medical needs. A week earlier, there were 89 in ICU and 33 on ventilators.
The youngest patient hospitalized in Northwest Arkansas was 13 and the oldest was 84, according to the council. The average age of patients was 50.
Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith had 16 hospitalized covid-19 cases -- down from 25 a week earlier -- and eight patients were in ICU, Taylor said.
Twenty-eight covid-19 patients were hospitalized at Baptist Health in Fort Smith, including 19 in covid critical care units and nine on ventilators, said spokeswoman Alicia Agent.
Statewide, 297 patients were hospitalized with covid-19 on Friday, according to the Department of Health. A total of 127 were in ICU and 57 were on ventilators.
Benton, Washington, Sebastian and Crawford counties have seen a combined 1,674 covid-19 related deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Department of Health.
Not fully vaccinated cases
Percentages of Arkansas residents with covid-19 who are not fully vaccinated:
• Active cases: 77.3%
• Total cases: 86.3%
• Hospitalized cases: 88.4%
• Deaths: 86.4%
Source: Arkansas Department of Health