Beginning October 4, 2022, wearing a mask will be optional in all Good
Samaritan facilities. Good Samaritan’s Chief Operating Officer, Adam
Thacker, stated that the change comes from new guidance from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC
recommends that health care facilities may choose to make masking
optional when COVID-19 community transmission is low and then reenforce masking when community transmission is high.
“Our community and Good Samaritan caregivers have been looking
forward to this day for more than two years,” stated Thacker. “In the last
year and a half we have relaxed some measures as we have seen
vaccination continue to drive down death and hospitalization seen with the
pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, we have remained steady with
following CDC recommendations and guidance, and I am thrilled that the
recommendations are allowing us to relax masking across all Good
Samaritan facilities.”
Thacker stated that while masking is optional at this time, the policy will be
revisited on a weekly basis. “Good Samaritan will determine universal
masking requirements based on the COVID-19 Community Level Status
for Knox County as determined by the CDC Data Tracker,” he added. “The
status of masking will be reviewed each Monday and communication will
be issued if changes are necessary.”
Knox County’s current status is green, indicating an optional masking
policy. If the status changes to yellow, the masking requirement will return
to the most recent policy that includes universal masking at the Good
Samaritan Hospital campus in all patient care areas and common areas.
In a yellow status, masking is only optional in non-patient care areas of the
hospital campus.
If transmission level in Knox County is red, all Good Samaritan facilities
(hospital and ambulatory sites) will have a universal masking requirement.
This will mean that masks must be worn in all patient facing and nonpatient facing areas.
