Hospital Covid restrictions are cruel, unnecessary and impede healing

It doesn’t have to be this way

Introducing Vanessa Steinkamp, Open Schools mom & teacher who was one of the earliest members of #TeamReality, speaking out for sane and compassionate treatment of children during lockdowns and Covid disruptions. In November, we finally met Vanessa in person when we interviewed her for our docu-series “15 Days…” (more on that soon!).

Here’s her first article for Restore Childhood. We hope it will be the first of many.

-Natalya & Dana

Last week I spent a couple of days at a large children’s hospital in Dallas Fort Worth.  It felt normal, and I was shocked and saddened to learn that my experience maybe an anomaly compared to many other states.

Here are my biggest takeaways:

Vanessa with her husband and children

1. Most medical professions were not masking.

They were not masked at computers, walking to the food court, or anywhere except in the patient’s room. The rules state medical professionals must mask in the room, but everywhere else is optional. I saw many unmasked smiling faces in this large hospital, and I was never asked to mask up.

2. There were no restrictions on visitors entering the hospital from 8am-8pm.

They allowed two adults in the room overnight, and brought in extra pillows, blankets to accommodate both parents. At one point during my stay, I overheard a dad ask the nurse if his one-and-a-half-year-old could visit. The nurse looked perplexed, and responded, “Of course, why do you ask?” The dad told the nurse that hospitals in his state still have restrictions on visitations and siblings are not allowed to visit. The nurse shook his head, and said, “That is really a shame. Oftentimes, siblings aid in healing.”

3. I was not asked a single question regarding my Covid vaccine status, or any question pertaining to Covid.

All the questions surrounded the care of my child, and how to best treat her current issues. I do believe they asked my child if she was vaccinated at the freestanding ER. Once transported to the children’s hospital they did not ask, and there was zero push for her to receive the vaccine.

When I started sharing my experiences, I was shocked to learn that many hospitals in other states are still maintaining Covid restrictions that are injurious to the infirm.

It is cruel, and unnecessary to prohibit siblings from visiting their loved ones in the hospital. It is really hard to have a loved one sick, and in the hospital. Often times, visitors raise their spirits, creating a palliative effect.

I hope my experience can shed light on a new direction that hospitals can, and should take. Let’s go back to heart of the matter- helping those with love, kindness, and commonsense approaches that buoy the spirit. We need to let people heal surrounded by love.  

It does not have to be any other way than normal.