Manatee Memorial lifts ban on certain visitors to hospital

Manatee Memorial Hospital is once again allowing some patients to be accompanied by visitors as they check into the hospital for care.

Safety measures will remain in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Visitors will be required to wear masks and use hand sanitizer as directed, the hospital said. They will also be subject to a screening and temperature check upon arrival at the hospital.

A ban on visitors to inpatient nursing units and rooms remains in place. The hospital is encouraging friends and family to stay in touch with admitted patients via phone call, FaceTime or Skype.

Manatee Memorial placed restrictions on visitors to the hospital in mid-March with exceptions for for certain maternity ward patients, special needs patients and end-of life situations. Those exceptions will also remain in place, according to the hospital.

Visitor exceptions include:

▪ Emergency Room patients may be accompanied by one visitor age 18 or older. The visitor must enter at the patient’s time of arrival. Both visitor and patient will be required to wear masks, and they should bring their own, the hospital said. The visitor will be assigned a room to stay in until the patient is discharged. In the case that a patient requires admitting, the visitor will not be allowed in the inpatient area.

▪ Surgical and procedural patients may be accompanied by one visitor age 18 or older in the admitting and pre-surgical areas. Both the patient and visitor will be required to wear a mask. The visitor will be required to leave the hospital when the surgery starts, and they will be notified when the patient is ready for discharge. The visitor will again need to wear a mask at the time of pickup. In the case that a patient is required to stay overnight after a procedure, no visitors will be allowed in inpatient areas.

▪ Labor and delivery, postpartum and neonatal care patients may be accompanied by one support person who can stay overnight. Older children will not be allowed to visit the hospital.

▪ Special needs patients, and patients in compassionate care/end-of-life situations may have visitors.

More information about the hospital’s response to the coronavirus can be found at manateememorial.com.