Northwestern Medical Center has now opened patient visitation more widely, allowing any number of fully vaccinated visitors for all patients in all settings so long as safe and effective care can be maintained with mask-wearing and social distancing.

Visitation at NMC was suspended at the start of the pandemic, and recently relaxed to allow for one fully vaccinated visitor per patient per day, with other caveats. NMC is now updating our policy to match the Vermont Department of Health’s newest guidance. This change makes sense given our experience in successfully managing COVID-19, and given Vermont’s progress in vaccinating our communities. It also restores a critical part of our healing environment – easier access to support from loved ones.

Key Components:  

• Patients are allowed to have as many fully vaccinated visitors as can safely be accommodated by the care environment. IMPORTANT NOTE: Some clinics/locations have stricter limits on visitation in order to maintain social distancing and patient safety.
• Patients can have one unvaccinated support person with them if they have communication needs, cognitive impairment, disability, require assistance to acquire care, or if that patient identifies a person as a support person.
• Pediatric patients can have one unvaccinated parent, guardian, or support person visit or accompany them. These unvaccinated visitors/supports may alternate their visitation of the pediatric patient as appropriate.
• Same-day surgery patients can have one unvaccinated visitor/support person escort them.

Important Notes: 

• Interpreters and members of the Clergy are part of the clinical care team and do not count as visitors or support people.
• All visitors / support persons will continue to be screened and logged as they enter NMC.
• All visitors / supporter persons are required to wear a mask/face covering.
• Visitation status is not limited by age, instead it is limited by vaccination status.

Please remember that visitor volumes will be dictated by the clinical area you are visiting to provide safe and effective care and maintain social distancing. Because patient volumes vary, this means that each area may require different allowances for vaccinated visitors on any given day.

We appreciate your understanding and help in keeping our patients, staff and community safe and healthy.

 

 

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