« Important COVID-19 Announcements

For the safety of our patients and team members, visitors are currently restricted at all Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals and nursing and rehabilitation facilities. Visitation exceptions will be made in certain situations, where partners in care are needed, including:

• Hospice
• Pediatric care
• Patients with a disability
• Ambulatory Care/Same day surgery (one visitor)
• Maternity/Labor and delivery (one visitor)
• Outpatients (one visitor)

Please contact the Office of Patient Experience at your hospital if you have additional needs for a partner in care to accompany you during your procedures or surgeries. These requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that once a visitor is approved, they will undergo a temperature screening upon arrival and be required to wear a mask. Visitors will not be tested for COVID-19. Visitors will also need to provide their contact information in the event that tracing becomes necessary. Phone and video calls to patients are welcome and encouraged.

To reduce the number of people in waiting areas and our hospitals, partners in care and family members will be contacted via phone by the patient’s care team.

Labor and Delivery Guidelines

The safety of our patients, families and staff remains our number one priority during this public health emergency. Having a newborn child is also a momentous occasion to be shared among loved ones. To balance the two, HMH is implementing revised procedures, as outlined below, for a visitor accompanying an expectant mother to the Labor and Delivery unit.

• Only one visitor/support person is allowed to accompany the expectant mother
  • Children 12 and under will not be allowed to visit.
• Active Screening procedure upon entering the health care facility (ie: Emergency Department,hospital entrance)
  • Screen patient for subjective fever and/or cough or shortness of breath
  • Measure temperature, is the temperature > 100.0Fahrenheit?
• Screening result
  • If person screens negative, then place face mask on individual and allow to proceed to Labor and Delivery unit
  • If person screens positive for questions above or has a measured fever, exclude individual from visiting and advise them to contact their primary care doctor or ConvenientCare Now
• Upon arrival to the Labor and Delivery unit, the visitor needs to be rescreened before entering the unit.
  • Screen patient for subjective fever and/or cough or shortness of breath
  • Measure temperature, is the temperature > 100.0 Fahrenheit?
• Screening results
  • If person screens negative, keep face mask on individual and allow to proceed into the Labor and Delivery unit
  • If person screens positive for questions above or has a measured fever, exclude individual from visiting and escort out of facility
• Triage
  • Visitor is not allowed to accompany expectant mother into triage area
  • Visitor should remain in waiting room until a decision to either admit or discharge the expectant mother is made
  • Visitor must wear face mask at all times
• Labor and Delivery Unit
  • Visitor will be escorted to the expectant mother’s room.
  • Visitor must remain in the patient’s room the entire time on the unit.
  • Visitor must wear a face mask at all times
  • Temperature of visitor will be retaken every 6 hours
  • If the temperature is > 100.0 Fahrenheit, then the visitor must be escorted out of the facility.
  • During delivery, the visitor may remain in attendance and continuously wear a face mask.
  • Visitor is not allowed to visit newborn nursery

Note: If expectant mother is COVID-19 positive or COVID PUI, visitors are not allowed.