For visitors

We allow two adult caregivers to accompany pediatric patients admitted to the hospital. All caregivers must wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines at all times. When a hospital employee enters the patient's room, everyone in the room must have their mask on.

If you are a patient's caregiver, you should:

• Not show signs or symptoms of illness
• Be over the age of 18 (unless a parent of the patient)

We encourage other visitations to be conducted by personal phones, tablets or social media of choice. You may also request the use of an iPad from your nurse so that you can interact with your loved ones.

Should you have any questions regarding our caregiver policies, please contact your nursing team.

Methodist Healthcare System has a strong tradition of excellence in patient care. Our COVID-19 caregiver guidelines balance preventing the spread of the virus with the needs of our patients and their loved ones. These guidelines are intended to provide patients and caregivers with compassionate care in a safe environment that promotes comfort and healing.

While two caregivers are typically allowed in patient rooms at one time, caregivers should understand that staying with COVID-19 patients limits the number to one caregiver at a time, where each caregiver can alternate.

Caregivers are expected to be assessed to determine risks to their health by a clinical member of the hospital staff while understanding that staying with a patient with COVID-19 puts them at risk for viral exposure. The caregiver agrees to accept all responsibility for that risk. Other protocols we have instituted for patient caregivers include:

• The designated caregiver should accompany the child from the emergency room to their private isolation room and should stay with them for the duration of their hospital stay.
• If the caregiver is a household contact, the designated caregiver should be free of COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and loss of taste or smell.
• As caregivers are required to wear a mask while any hospital staff member is in the room, the nursing staff can provide the caregiver with a new mask daily if needed.
• The caregiver is expected to limit movement within the facility. Caregivers must agree to only stay with the patient they are caring for and not to go to other locations in the facility.