Healthcare - visitation policy after COVID (Essay Sample)

Healthcare - Visitation policy after COVID Name Institution Course Instructor Date Healthcare is among the sectors that were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare organizations were forced to develop and implement various policies to address the effects of the pandemic. Among these policies is the visitation policy that limits the number of times other people should go to see the patient. My healthcare organization is considering implementing a policy that will involve not allowing visitors during the lockdown. In this paper, I will argue against this strategy and elaborate on why it should not stand in my organization. The visitation policy has changed the way I view healthcare equality and access. Some patients, especially those from minority racial groups who have limited proficiency in English, will find themselves at a disproportionate disadvantage when the organization implements the visitation policy (Marmo & Hirsch, 2023). This is because it is challenging for such patients to express themselves well in English and explain to the healthcare providers the health complications they are experiencing. As a result, it reduces the equality of medical services and makes it hard for those patients to access proper care that can improve their health conditions and well-being. Implementing the policy will present significant risks to the organization. The healthcare organization will risk losing some clients. Most families want to take their people to hospitals where they can visit and see them regularly. Implementing this policy will mean that family members are not allowed to visit their people in the hospital (Marmo & Hirsch, 2023). The family members may opt to go to other hospitals that do not have visit restrictions. Implementing the visitation policy will have various impacts, including the following. Among these impacts are adverse mental health consequences for the patients. The policy will have multiple mental health challenges for the patients, such as depressive symptoms, loneliness, reduced cognitive ability, aggression, and agitatio...