Patients & Visitors

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Current Visitor Guidelines

Seeking Care

To prevent exposure to others, individuals who have mild symptoms are strongly encouraged to:

• Call your healthcare provider for guidance.

For your safety, as well as the safety of patients and caregivers

Emergency departments are open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Screeners will staff facility entrances 24/7 until further notice and will reinforce the following restrictions:

• Everyone who enters the hospital is screened, including staff.
• No visitors with respiratory or flu-like symptoms (cold, cough, fever, muscle aches) are permitted to visit patients or wait within the facility.
• Everyone over the age of two is expected to wear a mask.

Hospital Visitation:

• Patient with end-of-life situation - 1 visitor (Wilkes-Barre General Hospital allows 2)
• Patient staying in the intensive care unit - 1 visitor
• Patient staying on a medical/surgical floor - 1 visitor
• Patient during labor and delivery - 1 visitor
• Patient staying in postpartum care - 1 visitor
• Pediatric and NICU - 1 parent, guardian or family care partner
• Patients requiring informed clinical authorization support, i.e. informed consent - 1 support person
• No visitors will be permitted for patients staying in senior mental health units
• No visitors will be permitted for patients staying in the COVID units
• No minor family members or visitors, under 16 years of age, will be permitted
• No visitors will be permitted for inpatient surgeries.

Visiting hours vary by hospital. Please call hospital location for visitation times.

Outpatient Procedure Visitation:

• Patients having an outpatient procedure or test - 1 visitor

ER Visitation:

• Patients coming for services in the ER - 1 visitor
• The visitor will not be able to stay if the patient is admitted to the hospital.
• No minor family members or visitors, under 18 years of age, will be permitted.

First Hospital

• No inpatient visitation permitted

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