Patients & Visitors
Current Visitor Guidelines
Temporary Visitors Policy Effective Monday, May 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:
Access to the hospital by patients and visitors will be limited to:
Main Entrance: Open Monday - Friday, 5:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Emergency Department Entrance: Open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week
Visitors will be allowed based on the following requirements and/or restrictions:
- One adult healthy visitor per patient is allowed for inpatients, ER patients, and surgical and procedure patients.
- Pediatric patients are permitted to have two healthy adult visitors, and both must be parents, guardians or caregivers.
- 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. Staff must pre-approve more than one visitor at a time, or visitors under the age of 18, for these patients.
- No Visitors are allowed for outpatient imaging, lab, or other other services other than those listed above.
- 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 100.3 and no COVID-19 like symptoms
- Use of hand sanitizer upon entry and 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 during their entire visit to the facility
- All patients and visitors, as allowed by exception, 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 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.
- If the visitor leaves the facility for any reason and they have not received prior approval for re-entry from the staff, they may not reenter the facility until the following day.
- We encourage our patient families to consider remote visits using telephone or video chat.
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.