UMass Memorial to change masking policy on May 11

Photo | Timothy Doyle UMass Memorial Medical Center's University campus, which is one of the hospitals in the UMass Memorial Health system.

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By Isabel Tehan

As the public health emergency declaration in Massachusetts is set to end on May 11, UMass Memorial Health in Worcester is poised to update its masking policy, which will make masking optional in most settings throughout the healthcare system.

Masks will continue to be required for healthcare providers in the emergency departments, the oncology clinics, bone marrow transplant unit, oncology infusion center, and with transplant patients, according to an email from UMass Memorial President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson sent to staff on Thursday. Masks will be optional, though encouraged, for caregivers and patients elsewhere in the hospital.

Masking by healthcare providers, hospital employees, and patients in hospital settings was a requirement by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health throughout the emergency declaration. The hospital system expects with the end of the declaration, DPH will allow healthcare entities to set their own policies, according to the email.

“We’ve been through a lot together during the pandemic, and one of the requirements that I know saved lives was universal masking in health care settings. However, now that we are coming out of the pandemic, it will be a welcomed moment to relax some of these requirements in certain areas, while respecting the personal preference of those who wish to continue to wear a mask,” Dickson wrote in the email.

The hospital will reevaluate the policy after four weeks based on COVID-19 activity, according to the email. The hospital system will continue to monitor COVID-19 cases to see if further masking policy adjustments are needed.