Rantz: Cruel Providence COVID rule won’t allow senior to visit wife after her stroke

“I’m so broken right now,” George, a 61-year-old retiree, wrote to me in an email as the love of his life recovers from a stroke.

George’s 65-year-old wife was admitted to the hospital, and he is concerned and scared. Thanks to Providence Regional Medical Center’s COVID visitation policy, he’s not allowed to see her. The couple of 38 years may not see one another for three full weeks.

“My wife suffered a life-threatening event. There is no straight answer on how this will end. I am separated from her. She is alone and so scared. And I can do nothing about it, for the first time in my life,” George told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

Having suffered a stroke, his wife wasn’t able to effectively communicate over the phone. George is looking for answers, but says the hospital isn’t providing any.

Providence Regional Medical Center tells retiree he can’t see ailing wife

George feels helpless. His wife suffered the stroke on Feb. 2 and was taken to Providence in Everett. It wasn’t something George saw coming.

“It’s a horrible stroke. I don’t know our future. I just retired a year ago. We were making plans to start doing the retired thing this summer. How quickly life can change,” George wrote to me in an email.

The stress of this has been unbearable, he says. After 12 hours in the emergency room, she improved and moved into a room to recover. But they won’t let him see her.

“She’s alone and scared. So am I,” George said.

Nebulous promises from Providence

A spokesperson for the hospital claims that due to high COVID cases, the hospital was forced to “temporarily roll back our visitor policy to no routine visitation on all patient care units.” There are very narrow exceptions to this rule, like pediatric or end-of-life visits.

“Visitor restrictions are difficult for patients, their loved ones, and for our caregivers. However, we must prioritize the safety of our patients,” a spokesperson emailed the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

George is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with three vaccinations. He even suffered from COVID. His wife is also vaccinated and recently recovered from COVID. Still, he’s not allowed to visit. What, exactly, is the threat to the patient?

The spokesperson says when COVID case rates decline, it will be safer to relax the ban on visitors. But Providence Everett won’t explain what the case rate would have to be to reopen.

Snohomish County has seen a dramatic decline in COVID cases since Jan. 15. The omicron wave is decidedly over.

Providence won’t disclose COVID staffing policy

Hospitals across the state have allowed symptomatic COVID-positive staff to return to work. The strategy is meant to mitigate the impacts of the staffing crisis hitting the health care industry.

After overworked nurses found higher-paying jobs elsewhere, and Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate resulted in the termination of the frontline workers he once called heroes, hospitals suffered a massive shortage in available staff. Following CDC guidance, they began allowing COVID-positive health care workers to return to the hospitals. They would face only slightly higher COVID restrictions.

Providence Everett would not respond to questions about their policy on allowing COVID-positive staff back into their hospital.

A Providence employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tells the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH that the hospital does not test staff prior to shifts, and those who were COVID-positive may return to work five days after diagnosis if they test negative.

A spokesperson did say, however, that “our caregivers also help facilitate phone and video visits.” That’s not been working well for George.

Nurses have not been helpful

George says he was able to get his wife’s cell phone to her. But there’s an obvious obstacle.

“I got her phone to her. But because of the stoke, she can barely manage to talk. Texting is not possible,” George said.

“When I would call, I would get handed off so many times before getting to someone who could tell me something. Even then, it was more like PR people reading cards on how the team approach is working the best for my wife, and that she’s going to be fine,” he shared.

He complains that nurses and other staff are treating him with neither respect nor compassion.

“Very few were helpful. One nurse scolded me that I should just ask my wife … since she has a phone,” George said. “I asked for her name and said I was filing a complaint. Maybe she should start looking for a new job. She reported me for threatening her. After an entire day of being left in the dark, this is what I get.”

Thankfully, his wife, who is starting to do better, is awaiting a transfer to in-patient rehabilitation. But the process is dragging out.

“The rehab is supposed to take up to 2 weeks,” George explains. “This means we will have not even seen each other through a window for three weeks. She’s on hold at Colby Campus because there are no beds available at Rehab. So who knows how long this might drag out.”

‘Filled with hurt and rage’

George says this experience is leaving him “filled with hurt and rage.” He just wants to see his wife and comfort her as she’s going through a terrifying medical emergency. But he can’t.

While he understands what nurses and other health care workers are going through, he hopes the hospital will consider his position.

“I would say to any health care worker that places their stress first: Consider my situation and ask yourself, ‘Would you trade your stress for my stress?’ Huh? Would you? Fair question,” George notes.

It is a fair question. And this policy is needlessly cruel.

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