Patients & Visitors
Current Visitor Guidelines
Temporary Visitors Policy Effective March 4, 2021
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this period of uncertainty together. While COVID-19 cases have decreased, the CDC continues to recommend masking and caution in healthcare settings. We must remain cautious and careful while being sensitive to an appropriate Visitor Policy. We appreciate your help to keep our patients, visitors, staff and community safe by agreeing to the following policy.
Entrance access to the hospital by patients and visitors will be limited to:
Main Entrance: Open Monday - Friday, 5:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Emergency Department Entrance: Open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week
A limited number of healthy visitors will be allowed during department specific visiting hours as specified below.
| Department |
Number of Visitors |
Visiting Hours |
| 5th Floor Non-COVID Unit |
2 |
24/7 |
| 6th Floor COVID Unit |
0 |
none |
| ICU |
2 |
8 a.m. - 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. |
| Women’s Services (Non-Deliveries) |
2 |
24/7 |
| Women’s Services (Deliveries) |
3 |
24/7 |
| Surgery |
2 |
24/7 |
| ER |
1 |
24/7 |
| Cath Lab |
2 |
24/7 |
| All other Departments |
2 |
24/7 |
The following exceptions will apply to the above visiting hours policies:
- Patients who have been determined by the care team to be at the “end-of-life” may be visited by healthy members of the immediate family, even if outside of normal visiting hours.
- ALL visitors must meet the following requirements for entry and continued visitation:
- Must pass the COVID-19 Symptom and Fever screening at the time of entry - no fever above 100.0 and no COVID-19 like symptoms
- Use of hand sanitizer required upon entry and recommended upon exit
- Wear a mask at all times while in the facility
- If the visitor arrives wearing gloves, they must be discarded upon entry
- Remain in the patient’s room, or in the appropriate waiting area, or the cafeteria during their entire visit to the facility
- Visitors are discouraged from frequently entering and leaving the facility multiple times on the same day.
- We encourage our patient families to consider remote visits using telephone or video chat.
Thank you for doing your part to help keep our patients, visitors, staff and community safe by following this policy.
At Merit Health Biloxi, we understand that coming to the hospital as a patient or as a loved one's support person can be a difficult, often overwhelming experience. Whether you’re preparing for a hospital stay or stopping by to see friends and family, knowing where to go and what to bring will help make your visit less stressful. To make your experience easier, we want to provide you with helpful information you may need to plan your visit, such as what to expect, parking instructions, transportation and more.