By Amanda Falcone, Public Relations Director.
(May 20, 2021) MIDDLETOWN — Middlesex Health has changed its visitor policy.
All Middlesex Health departments that care for patients who are not hospitalized, including all ambulatory services, will now allow one visitor per patient. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors were not allowed at these locations.
Middlesex is also now allowing hospitalized patients and patients who are having surgery to have one visitor at a time during normal visiting hours. Previously, these patients were only designated one visitor for the length of their stay.
Emergency Department patients can now have one visitor at a time 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Patients on respiratory precautions, such as presumed or confirmed COVID-19 patients, will not be allowed visitors.
There are some exceptions to these rules. They include:
- Visitors making compassionate care visits (If a patient qualifies for compassionate care visits, they can have two visitors at the same time.)
- Visitors making disability care visits
- Birthing partners for Pregnancy and Birth Center patients
- Pediatric patients (They are allowed both parents at their bedside.)
- Clergy visits (Members of the clergy should not visit patients who are on special respiratory precautions unless it is a compassionate visit.)
Visitors under these special circumstances may visit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Visiting hours at Middlesex Hospital, located at 28 Crescent Street in Middletown, are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays — with the exception of its inpatient mental health care unit. Visiting hours for this unit are 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. every day.
If visitors enter the hospital during established visiting hours, they can stay until 7:30 p.m. If they arrive outside of visiting hours, they will be instructed to visit during visiting hours unless they meet one of the exceptions listed.
Those visiting hospitalized patients during established visiting hours should check in at the hospital lobby. Anyone arriving for a special exception visit when the lobby is closed should report to the Emergency Department main entrance.
Emergency Department visitors can enter through the Emergency Department entrance.
All visitors, regardless of the location that they are visiting, must wear a mask and be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. Per recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), face masks are still required in health care settings. You must wear a mask while at a Middlesex Health facility regardless of whether you’ve been vaccinated.
For more information about Middlesex Health’s revised visitor policy, visit MiddlesexHealth.org.
