Also part of the UPMC family:
Updated: April 2, 2020
For the safety of patients and staff, and to lower their likelihood of exposure to any illness including COVID-19, UPMC is temporarily restricting visitors.
While our current visitation guidelines do not apply to facility access of essential health providers and vendors necessary to be on-site for direct patient care or hospital operations, we are recommending they be limited as much as possible, if non-essential.
All visitors, patients, and staff will be screened upon entry to any UPMC hospital and cancer center. Visitors, patients, and staff entering a facility will be asked a series of COVID-19 screening questions.
As of Thursday, April 2, at noon, hospital entry screening will add thermal scan body temperature taking for anyone entering the building. People permitted inside will be given an optional facemask that they may wear when inside the facility.
Outpatients who answer “yes” to any of the screening questions or who have a fever are required to wear masks. NICU visitors also must wear the masks at all times, except while eating. The masks are not required for others who enter the facility.
As of March 27, patients to UPMC’s Emergency Departments cannot be accompanied by a visitor unless the visitor is necessary for the patient’s assistance and care. Visitors must be adults, cannot be showing symptoms, and cannot move around the Emergency Department or enter the main hospital.
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.
Beginning Tuesday, March 24, inpatient and outpatient visitation guidelines will shift from limited to restricted, outlined below. Hospitals and facilities, except UPMC Chautauqua, will follow these guidelines. Rare exceptions will be made in end-of-life and special circumstances, such as when the visitor is essential for the patient’s emotional well-being and health. Any exceptions must be approved by the facility’s chief nursing officer.
We trust you to help us keep our patients safe, and the greeters at our entrances are not screening for symptoms at this time. As the signs in our hospitals and offices explain, any non-patient that has shortness of breath, fever, cough, or has been in contact with someone who is being tested for COVID-19 should not enter UPMC facilities.
Inpatients being tested for or diagnosed with COVID-19:
Non-COVID-19 inpatients (all hospital departments, excluding obstetrics, pediatrics, L&D, and NICU) AND outpatients (of all physician practices, rehab, cancer centers, imaging, and all outpatient locations):
Obstetrics, pediatric inpatients, labor and delivery, and NICU inpatients:
Transitional care unit (TCU) patients:
Behavioral health services (UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and all inpatient behavioral health settings):
UPMC Chautauqua:
UPMC is temporarily restricting visitation at all UPMC Senior Communities long-term care facilities, including skilled nursing, personal care, and assisted and independent living settings, and hospital transitional care units (TCUs). Visitors will be permitted only in special situations, approved by the facility administrator or designated manager. Special situations may include end-of-life visitation and when a visitor is essential for the resident’s emotional well-being and care.
At UPMC Senior Communities, essential health providers and vendors, and special-approved visitors must be clinically screened by a staff member at designated facility entrances.
The UPMC Senior Communities entrance screener will ask questions, below, documenting name and “yes” or “no” responses on a log, and complete a body temperature.
1. Signs or symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat.
2. Close contact with someone under investigation for COVID-19.
3. In line with CMS recommendations, long-term care clinical screen guidelines have increased to include taking body temperatures upon facility entry. Any person with a temperature of 100.0 degrees or greater is not permitted facility entry.
If visitors answer “yes” to any of the screening questions or appear to be ill, they will not be allowed to enter. They will be directed to see their primary care physician or use UPMC AnywhereCare. If visitors need immediate emergency care, they will be referred to go to their nearest hospital Emergency Department.
In addition to visitor restrictions, UPMC is temporarily suspending volunteer activities in all hospitals and facilities. We are looking to ensure the safety of our volunteers and to protect against the spread of illness, including COVID-19. We will continue to evaluate the future use of volunteers as this situation evolves.
Providers deemed essential to a patient’s care and wellbeing, and vendors necessary for patient care and/or hospital operations, may enter facilities in some circumstances. Those granted access must follow the same screening guidelines as all permitted visitors.
The following guidelines will apply:
Clergy and Pastoral Care
Hospice and Home Care Providers
Post-Acute Liaisons
Vendors / Dock Deliveries
Other
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-647-8762
800-533-8762
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