Ohio — Hospitals across the state will enforce mask mandates into the summer despite the end of health orders in Ohio.
While masks are no longer required in hospitals under Ohio law, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its May 13 move to let fully vaccinated people cease mask-wearing does not apply to health care settings.
As a result, health care systems in Ohio are reiterating that masks are still required at their facilities.
State officials said Ohioans should continue to wear masks in health care settings in alignment with the CDC guidance.
Due to the end of health orders, some Ohio health care systems are loosening their restrictions, allowing more visitation and giving patients and residents more freedom to participate in group activites.
Hospitals in the greater Cincinnati region will collectively continue to require masks, the Health Collaborative announced Thursday.
“It is well recognized that in healthcare settings, extra precautions are necessary to protect our vulnerable patient, staff, and volunteer populations,” said Assistant Director of Emergency Response Christa Hyson.
Mercy Health, the largest health care system in the state, announced that it would continue to require masks after June 2 because masks are “vital” to keeping patients and associates protected, officials said Tuesday.
Jonathon Fauvie, a spokesperson for Mercy Health in Ohio, said the policy is rooted in the CDC’s guidance, but the health system believes that continuing to require masks is the wise path forward.
“We're still not out of COVID, but also other infectious disease has been mitigated by the limited numbers of people coming into our hospitals and them having to wear masks,” Fauvie said.
Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff clarified Wednesday that many of the state’s health care institutions must enforce masking due to federal requirements.
“Many of our hospitals and healthcare institutions are accredited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and so, therefore continue to be accountable to federal requirements and guidelines regardless of what the state does or doesn't have in place,” he said during a virtual news conference.
There are a few limited exceptions to the CDC’s mask policy for health care systems:
- During visits, patients and visitors do not need masks when they are alone in a room if they are all fully vaccinated
- Patients and residents can dine and participate in group activities if everyone in the group is fully vaccinated
- Health care workers can go without masks during breaks or during meetings if the staff members are all vaccinated
For many of the Ohio health systems continuing to mandate masks, the policies apply beyond the hospitals. The policies extend to physicians' offices, outpatient or ambulatory facilities, home health visits and hospice care.
Genesis HealthCare System in Zanesville is mandating masking at all of its buildings, including the hospital, physicians' offices and other medical centers.
"As Ohio's health orders have officially lifted, we would like everyone to know that we will continue to require patients, visitors and employees to wear facemasks due to the presence of COVID-19 in our community," Genesis said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
The Cleveland Clinic is keeping its COVID-19 safety precautions in place and continue to require that everyone wear masks in its facilities.
“We have many vulnerable patients in our hospitals and while cases are declining, the virus is still circulating and patients with COVID-19 are still being admitted to the hospital,” spokesperson Andrea Pacetti said.
University Hospitals in Cleveland has placed new signs around its facilities notifying patients and visitors that health care facilities are not included in the recent CDC guidance easing mask requirements for fully vaccinated people. Hospital officials said a limited visitation policy remains in place, allowing most patients to have one visitor.
The Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association said that masks are still required to visit the region’s hospitals due to the federal guidelines.
“Our hospitals are required to follow the current CDC guidance that requires masks in healthcare settings, which the American Hospital Association clarified on May 17,” President Sarah Hackenbracht said in an email.
On Wednesday, the association changed its visitation policy in concurrence with the end of health orders, pivoting to allow patients to have up to three visitors. Patients and visitors do not need to wear masks when they are alone during a visit, officials said.
In central Ohio, Mount Carmel, OhioHealth, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital issued a joint statement last week which said masks will still be required for patients and visitors until further notice.
Officials with MetroHealth in Cleveland, Summa Health in Akron, ProMedica in northwest Ohio also confirmed to Spectrum News that their mask policies remain in place despite the end of the health orders.
Casey Weldon and Lydia Taylor contributed to this report.