Please review the following updates to Aultman’s mask, visitation and screening policies, effective at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

Masks

• Recently, Aultman conducted a risk assessment using the most current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 community transmission levels and state and local hospital-specific data. As a result, masks will be optional for patients, visitors and colleagues in all Aultman settings. 

Screening

• All patients, visitors, students, customers, contracted workers, vendors and volunteers entering our facilities will need to self-screen. Please refer to signage at all entrances referring to what is expected of all patients and visitors.

Visitation

• Visitation will return to pre-COVID policies.
  • At Aultman Hospital, visitation will be permitted 24/7.
  • At Aultman Alliance, visitation will be permitted 24/7.
  • At Aultman Orrville, visitation will be permitted 24/7.
  • At Aultman Post-Acute (Woodlawn) and the Alliance Community Care Center, visitation will be permitted 24/7.
  • For Aultman Specialty Hospital patients, visitation will be permitted from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Akron Children's Pediatric Unit and NICU at Aultman Hospital will follow Akron Children's Hospital's visitation policies. Please click here to learn more. 
• Visitors to patients who are COVID+ must follow safety guidelines specific to those units.
• Volunteer and pet visitation will also return to normal.
• Please note that visitation policies may change at any time if community spread, hospitalization rates or death rates increase. We will notify you if the policies change.

Aultman Health Foundation offers several COVID-19 vaccination sites throughout Stark and Wayne counties. All appointments can be scheduled via the Ohio Department of Health’s website gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. Please note: If a provider does not appear in your search results, it means there are currently no available appointments. You are encouraged to check the website regularly for openings.

COVID & Flu Vaccine Clinics – North Canton

This clinic will be closed from May 1 through July 31, 2023. We encourage you to visit your local pharmacy for vaccines during this time. The clinic will reopen in August for flu and COVID vaccines.

After August of 2023, flu vaccines, as well as COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the walk-in vaccine clinic at Aultman North Canton Medical Center for both colleagues and the general public. 

COVID vaccines are available for patients 12 and older. Flu vaccines are available for those 9 and up. All other pediatric patients are encouraged to contact their primary care provider or public health department for vaccines.

The clinic will be open Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. No appointment is necessary. The North Canton clinic is located at 6046 Whipple Ave. NW – entrance C. For questions, please contact the COVID clinic hotline at 330-433-1669. 

Vaccine Exemption Forms 
The CMS mandate, published Nov. 5, 2021, requires all colleagues, contractors, vendors, college students, board members, licensed independent providers, volunteers and other healthcare representatives to be fully vaccinated (both shots of two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, or a single dose of the J&J vaccine), or have an approved medical or religious exemption. To request a religious or medical exemption form, please click the appropriate link below. 

Religious Exemption 
Medical Exemption  - Before you submit this form you MUST have your physician fill out the medical exemption form and have it available to attach to this form: Request for Medical Exception Form

Walk-in COVID testing is available at Aultman Hospital’s outpatient lab and at Aultman North. Testing is also offered at Aultman Alliance Community Hospital and Aultman Orrville Hospital, with a valid order from a physician. For more information, please call the location of your choice:

• Aultman Hospital (Outpatient Lab): 330-363-6447
• Aultman North: 330-305-6999
• Aultman Alliance Community Hospital: 330-596-7127
• Aultman Orrville Hospital: 330-682-3010

According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an additional dose of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines now can be administered to a small group of immunocompromised individuals following completion of a primary mRNA vaccine series. Other fully vaccinated individuals do not need an additional vaccine dose at this time.

The FDA has updated its emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to include a recommended third dose for individuals with moderate to severe immunosuppression who are at heightened risk for serious outcomes from COVID-19. This additional dose should be administered at least 28 days following completion of the primary vaccination series. An additional dose is not recommended if you received the Johnson & Johnson single dose.

Individuals who believe they meet the criteria are urged to consult with their healthcare providers to determine next steps. A patient’s clinical team is best positioned to determine the degree of immune system compromise and appropriate timing of vaccination. The CDC has further defined this eligible population to include:

• Individuals undergoing active treatment for cancer (solid tumor and hematologic malignancies). 
• Individuals who have received a solid-organ transplant and are taking immunosuppressive therapy.
• Individuals who have received a CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within two years of transplant or taking immunosuppression therapy).
• Individuals with moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome).
• Individuals with advanced or untreated HIV infection. 
• Individuals undergoing active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.

Alongside the additional dose recommendation, the CDC is also recommending the following extra precautions for immunocompromised individuals:

• Wearing a mask.
• Staying six feet apart from others outside their household.
• Avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.
• Close contacts of immunocompromised people are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Please note that these additional doses for immunocompromised persons should not be confused with booster doses. At this time, additional booster doses are not authorized or recommended for any individuals based upon waning immunity over time. The need for and timing of a COVID-19 booster dose have not been established, according to the FDA.

Aultman Health Foundation offers several COVID-19 vaccination sites throughout Stark and Wayne counties. If you have received your primary two-dose regimen and fall into any of the immunocompromised categories listed above, please schedule your third dose vaccination by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s website at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov.

For a quick, easy-to-follow guide to help you make decisions and seek appropriate medical care, please click here for more information.