Patients & Visitors
Current Visitor Guidelines
Temporary Visitors Policy Effective Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this period of uncertainty together. Based on the increasing incidence of COVID-19 in our region, Merit Health Biloxi will implement a revised visitor policy for the hospital as follows:
- Visitors will NOT be allowed, except as outlined below.
- Patients in isolation may not have visitors.
- We encourage our patient families to consider remote visits using telephone or video chat.
- Access to the hospital by patients and visitors will be limited to:
- Main Entrance – Open 5:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. - Monday - Friday
- Emergency Department Entrance – 24 hours per day, 7 days a week
- All patients and visitors, as allowed by exception below, must be screened upon entry and granted access. IF an individual meets criteria for concern, they may receive further instructions or not be allowed to enter the hospital. The criteria for screening includes any symptoms associated with respiratory illness (fever, runny nose, cough, shortness of breath), OR contact with a COVID-19 infected person OR they report visiting any area identified as a location experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.
- All patients and allowed visitors must stay in the patient’s room, or surgical waiting room for surgical patients, with the exceptions below during the entirety of their visit until ready to leave the facility.
- If a visitor leaves the hospital for any reason after entry, they may not return to the hospital until the following day.
The exceptions to the No Visitors policy include:
- Pediatric patients are permitted to have two healthy adult visitors, and both must be parents, guardians, or caregivers.
- OB patients may be accompanied by one healthy adult partner.
- Adult 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.
- Adult patients with disruptive behavior or a mental health status, for whom a family member is essential to their care, may have one healthy adult visitor.
- Adult patients undergoing surgery or cath lab procedure, may have one healthy adult visitor before and during the procedure for both inpatient and outpatient procedures. For inpatients, the adult visitor must leave the hospital as soon as possible after the procedure has been completed and the patient is in a room. The visitor must stay in the clinic or surgery waiting area during their time in the hospital facility.
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.