• Sujin Ann-Yi, Ahsan Azhar, and Eduardo Bruera.
• Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
• J Palliat Med. 2021 Dec 1; 24 (12): 1905-1908.

AbstractBackground: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented experience that has had profound impact and consequences for health care providers, visitation policies, and procedures. Hospitals and health care facilities were forced to implement changes to visitation policies, in an effort, to minimize transmission of the virus, which unfortunately had negative impact on patients' and family members' well-being as well as moral distress for the staff. Objectives: We present here a case illustration of the impacts of such a response to the pandemic situation at our institution, including challenges for uniformly implementing such a change along with suggestions to support patients during these difficult times. Conclusion: Health care facilities should make efforts to maintain balance between safety precautions and minimizing potential negative impacts on patients, families, and staff by implementing innovative measures to support ongoing communication and access to family support.

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