“In Ontario, it’s interesting to know that, when it comes to visitor policies, patients don’t have rights.”— Sharry Aiken

The health ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic haven’t been limited to the unfortunate people who have been infected by the virus — or to the tragic deaths of those who have succumbed to it. The enormous stress and emotional toll experienced by their families and caregivers is one of the major mental health stories to emerge during the pandemic… especially as many families are unable to visit or say goodbye to hospitalized loved ones who are kept in strict isolation.

In fact, many people are unable to visit non-Covid patients — even when fully vaccinated.

What are the rights of the patient, and those who want to visit them, in such a situation?

This episode of Living Jewishly is an instalment of Crossing the Sea, a podcast about Judaism and mental health.

In this episode, Dr. Elliot Malamet speaks to Sharry Aiken, associate professor and academic director at the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University, about the nightmare of hospital visitation during Covid-19, the unseen hardships faced by marginalized groups when dealing with hospital bureaucracy or other Covid-related situations, and the vital missing piece when it comes to preparing our frontline decisionmakers.

“Whether it’s border guards or the staff at a hospital… we’ll always need discretion. We always need the person on the frontline faced with the real situation to have the authority to respond appropriately to the context.”— Sharry Aiken

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• The wide range of visitor policies adopted by hospitals in the absence of overarching federal or provincial guidelines
• How societal beliefs and differences affect the ways that our institutions work — and how personalities affect the ways that policies are enforced
• The hidden benefits of these unprecedented times and the lessons we should carry into the future

Highlights:‌ ‌

00:53 Intro

03:36 Sharry Aiken & hospital visitation

07:28 Staffing shortages & the need for advocacy

09:24 Difficulties for marginalized groups

12:17 Hardships we don’t see

14:57 Societal/institutional relationships

17:14 Policy implementation

20:56 Remote learning

26:34 Benefits & challenges

29:41 Coping practices

31:40 Outro

Links:‌ ‌

To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:

Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org

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Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw

or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.

Shalom!