Catholic Health to resume limited hospital visitations

Catholic Health will welcome visitors back to its hospitals starting Wednesday, Feb. 3. Visiting hours will resume from 2-6 pm daily at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, and Sisters of Charity Hospital (Main St. Campus only).

Visitation is not available at Sisters Hospital, St. Joseph Campus; the St. Joseph Post-Acute Center in Orchard Park; or any Catholic Health nursing home, which are not permitted to have visitors by the Department of Health at this time.

To help protect the safety of patients and visitors, the following guidelines will be in place:

√ Only one visitor (age 18 or older) per patient will be permitted to visit at a time;

√ All visitors will be required to complete a health screening (questions and temperature check), wear a face mask at all times, clean their hands with soap/water/hand sanitizer before entering and after leaving a patient room, and practice social distancing throughout the visit;

√ Maternity patients are permitted one visitor during their hospital stay;

√ Emergency department patients may be accompanied by a visitor in the treatment room for a designated period of time based on the care team’s judgment;

√ Visitation is not permitted for patients receiving care on a restricted COVID-19 unit, subject to end-of-life exceptions. Virtual visits are available for patients diagnosed with COVID-19;

√ Individuals are not permitted visitation if they have an active COVID-19 diagnosis, are under investigation for COVID-19, have been in contact with a person actively infected with COVID-19 within 10 days, are currently exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, or are otherwise under quarantine for any reasons relating to New York state COVID-related advisories.

Exceptions may be made to these guidelines for extenuating circumstances, such end-of-life visits or for patients with special needs (children, disabled individuals or those with cognitive impairments).

At this time, visitation is for inpatients only. Visitors are not able to wait while patients undergo surgery. Visitors are asked to enter the hospitals at their main lobby entrances and proceed to the screening stations. Due to enhanced screening and registration processes, visitors may experience short delays. To expedite the registration process, visitors may complete an online form before their visit. A list of visitor guidelines and the online visitor form are available at chsbuffalo.org/visitor-guidelines.