Visitor Restrictions

(Updated 2-23-22)

For the safety of our patients and staff, and to lower their likelihood of exposure to any illness including COVID-19, UPMC is temporarily limiting access to our facilities to only patients, identified and approved support persons, staff, and essential vendors. Our visitation policies are based on information and guidelines from national, state, and local health care officials. In addition to restricting visitors, we are following other COVID-19 prevention protocols, including entry screening, facemasks, social distancing, and frequent facility sanitizing. We encourage you to use FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, and phone calls to virtually visit with loved ones while they are in the hospital. If you need help with this, please let a staff member know.

Everyone is required to wear a face mask upon entering any UPMC campus and throughout our facilities. All staff, patients, visitors, long-term care residents, and non-UPMC providers and vendors must wear face masks in all clinical, patient/resident, and high-traffic nonclinical areas.

SUPPORT PERSONS: Inpatient visiting hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. except for the Behavioral Health Unit.

The rear entrance of the hospital will be closed between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. each night. Those needing access during these hours, patients and/or their support person on file, should now use the Emergency Department entrance. Upon arrival, they will be screened by a security officer and directed to the appropriate location.

All Support Persons in All Care Settings

Support persons are an important element of the care team and help our patients manage and communicate about their care.

• Everyone must wear a facemask upon entry and at all times and follow social distancing guidelines. If you do not have a facemask, we will provide you one at facility entry. We strongly encourage support persons to wear their own masks so that we can preserve our supplies for staff and clinical workers.
• No children visitors will be permitted in any care setting. Support people must be 18 years of age or older.
• We trust you to help us keep our patients safe. Any non-patient who has shortness of breath, fever, or cough, or who has been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 or is being tested for COVID-19 should not enter UPMC facilities.

View State of Maryland’s Notice: Support_Persons_for_Individuals_with_Disabilities

Exceptions to this order may be made with the approval of hospital leadership for compassionate care and end-of-life situations, and for patients with disabilities – as defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment (source: www.ada.gov) .

Inpatients, Emergency Room Patients, and Outpatients: 

Inpatient and outpatient visitation is currently restricted, outlined below.

Non-COVID-19 inpatients and outpatients: 

Two support persons will now be allowed for:

· Inpatient units

· Pediatric units (the same two support persons for the entire stay)

· OB and labor and delivery units

One support person will now be allowed for:

· Outpatient surgery

· Emergency department visits

· Outpatient clinics and practices

Inpatients being tested for or diagnosed with COVID-19:  Those who are suspected of having COVID-19 or inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 or a representative on their behalf, may identify one primary and one alternate support person to assist them for the duration of their hospital stay.

• Only one support person is permitted inside the facility at one time. We are allowing an alternate support person in case the primary support person cannot visit during the patient’s stay.
• In addition, visits by UPMC-employed pastoral care or by non-UPMC-employed community clergy are also permitted.
• We will provide a time-limited window for the support person visit.
• Visits must be scheduled and coordinated with hospital leadership.

Support persons must:

• Follow our patient support person guidelines.
• Pass the facility’s entry screening process.
• One exception to this is that support persons who reside in the same household as a COVID-19 positive patient or a PUI are permitted to be the support person, as long as they are asymptomatic, wear a facemask their entire time on-site, and remain in patient room not roaming the hospital.
• Wear a UPMC-issued patient support person wristband, sticker, or tag.
• Patients who are suspected of having COVID-19 and COVID-19 inpatients are kept in isolation rooms.
  • Before entering the room of patients who are suspected of having COVID-19 and COVID-19 inpatients, support persons will be required to put on personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by the nursing team, which will include a gown, gloves, a surgical mask with a face shield, or a surgical mask alone if a face shield is not available. A member of the hospital care team will assist them. This level of PPE is considered appropriate for support persons.
  • When support persons enter an isolation room or area, a member of the hospital care team will assist them with PPE.
  • When support persons exit an isolation room or area, a member of the hospital care team will help them safely remove their PPE.
• At the end of the visit, support persons will leave the hospital.
• There may be situations when a support person is permitted on-site for either a COVID-19 positive or COVID-19 negative patient, and the support person themselves is COVID-19 positive. These are exceptions, and senior leadership at the facility should be directly involved in approving and coordinating this visit.
• Vendors  It’s important that all vendors follow every precaution to safely return to coming on-site to support our facilities and patients. All vendors will go through the entry screening process and adhere to our universal masking guidelines. Any vendor who screens positive will not be permitted to enter the facility.