Ascension Providence Tightens Visitor Rules as COVID-19 Cases Surge in Mobile

Ascension Providence Hospital in Mobile announced updated visitation rules set to take effect on January 3, 2022, as a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases swept through the area.

The revised policy applies to both non-COVID-19 patients and those being treated for the virus. For non-COVID-19 patients, the hospital implemented a restricted set of approved visitor guidelines. Separate, more stringent rules were put in place for visitors of COVID-19 patients.

One notable change: overnight visitors at the Mobile facility were advised that once they entered the hospital after 7 p.m., re-entry would not be permitted until the following morning. Leadership at the facility said the measure was necessary to maintain safety protocols amid growing community transmission.

The move came as Mobile County saw a significant uptick in confirmed cases tied to the Omicron variant, which had become the dominant strain across the United States by late December 2021. Hospital systems throughout the Gulf Coast region took similar precautions during the same period.

Ascension Providence, part of the larger Ascension health system, operates as one of Mobile’s primary medical centers. Patients and visitors were encouraged to check the hospital’s website or call ahead before arriving.

About the hospital

Providence Hospital traces its history to 1854, when the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic order of women religious, founded it in downtown Mobile. At the time of this policy change it was part of Ascension, the St. Louis-based Catholic health system; the University of South Alabama later acquired the hospital, which now operates as USA Health Providence Hospital.

The World Health Organization designated omicron a variant of concern on Nov. 26, 2021, and it spread far faster than earlier versions of the virus. In the first weeks of January 2022, the United States recorded more daily COVID-19 cases than at any earlier point in the pandemic.