COVID-19 Updates for Patients & Visitors
COVID-19 Updates for Patients & Visitors Main Content
Community COVID-19 Nurse Line
Talk to a Baptist Health nurse about what's next and how to get care for COVID-19 symptoms. This services is available Monday - Friday, 8am-5pm, for free.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our top priority is to keep our patients, visitors and caregivers safe. To protect everyone in our facilities, we’ve changed many of our policies and happenings at Baptist.
Here you’ll find:
- Who Can Visit & Where?
- Parking and Entry Information
- Updates to Events, Meetings, Tours and Classes
- Preparing for Your Surgery or Procedure
- Additional Resources & FAQs
Community COVID-19 Nurse Line
Talk to a Baptist Health nurse about what's next and how to get care for COVID-19 symptoms. This services is available Monday - Friday, 8am-5pm, for free.
COVID-19 Updates for Patients & Visitors Additional Content Section 1
Who Can Visit & Where?
Visitors to our facilities should be limited to those essential for the patient's physical or emotional well-being and care. For safety, we are restricting the number of people in our facilities as noted below.
- All visitors must be age 16+ unless noted otherwise.
- Children may not be brought along for the visit and may not be left unattended in the lobby/waiting area.
Masking Policies
We require all patients (ages 2+) and permitted visitors to wear masks or cloth facial coverings at all Baptist Health facilities, regardless of COVID-19 vaccine status. Please bring your ID and allow at least 15 minutes to complete our visitor check in at our hospital locations.
Masks with an exhalation vent or a face shield without a mask are not permitted at hospitals or emergency center. Learn more about our accepted mask policies.
Hospital Hours
Hospital visitation hours are limited to 8 am – 8 pm. One designated visitor* may stay overnight with the patient.
Permitted visitors may include:
Outpatient Services & Physician Offices Patient Visitation
- Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center: One permitted visitor age 18+.
- Outpatient Imaging, Lab Services, Tests (Adult): One permitted visitor.
- Outpatient Rehab (Adult): One permitted visitor for the duration of the session.
- Medical Office Buildings: One permitted visitor.
- Physician Offices – Primary and Specialty: One permitted visitor.
- Outpatient Imaging, Lab Services, Tests (Pediatric): Two permitted visitors.
- Outpatient Rehab (Pediatric): Two permitted visitors for the duration of the session.
Surgery Patient Visitation
- Inpatient Surgery (Adult): One designated visitor* will be able to wait until surgery is complete. After surgery, the inpatient policy will apply.
- Outpatient Surgery (Adult): One designated visitor* will be able to wait until surgery is complete.
- Pediatric Surgery: Two designated visitors* will be able to wait until surgery is complete. After surgery, the inpatient policy will apply.
Hospital Patient Visitation
Hospital visitation hours are 8 am – 8 pm.
- Adult Inpatient: One designated visitor* permitted each day for non-COVID patients. No overnight visitors for adult inpatients (excluding L&D).
- Behavioral Health (Adult): No visitors at this time.
- Pediatric Inpatient (excluding NICU): Two designated visitors* permitted for non-COVID patients.
- Labor and Delivery: Two designated visitors* for duration of stay. One visitor may stay overnight.
- NICU: Two designated visitors* for duration of stay. One visitor may stay overnight.
COVID-19 Hospital Patient Visitation
- COVID-19 Positive Adult Patients: No visitors at this time.
- COVID-19 Positive Pediatric Patients: One parent/guardian per day.
Emergency Patient Visitation
- Adult Emergency Center: One designated visitor* permitted in a patient’s room. If the patient is admitted, the inpatient policy will apply.
- Pediatric Emergency Center: Two designated visitors* permitted in a patient’s room.
Hospice & End-of-Life Patient Visitation
- Hospice: Two loved ones will be permitted.
- End-of-life: Two loved ones will be permitted. Care teams will arrange visitation on a case-by-case basis.
* Who is a designated visitor?
All hospital and emergency center visitors are registered into our system upon entry. Designated visitors may come and go but may not switch out with a non-designated visitor.
Why Baptist Health is Safe
Learn more about how we’re keeping patients, visitors and team members safe at our locations.
Parking and Entry Information
Entrances may be limited. Patients and permitted visitors should park and enter through the following areas:
COVID-19 Updates for Patients & Visitors Additional Content Section 2
Emergency Room & Urgent Care
The Emergency Room is designed for severe medical cases or injuries. If you feel you have a medical emergency, please call 911.
Several infection prevention measures are also in place in our emergency departments, including:
- Universal masking requirements for team members, physicians, patients and visitors
- Frequent cleaning of common surfaces to thwart exposure
- Escalated infection prevention measures including hand hygiene (clean hands only!)
- Limiting the number and ages of visitors (1 visitor, only if needed to support patients with impairment or mobility needs)
- Social distancing practices in waiting rooms and common areas
Baptist Health also has convenient options available including video doctor visits, to help you determine the appropriate next step in care. To set up an online doctor visit or see ER wait times at each of our facilities, please visit baptistcarenow.com.
Preparing for Your Surgery or Procedure
We are committed to your safety during every step of your experience. While many remain concerned about the COVID-19 outbreak, we know some illnesses and injuries simply can’t wait. For your surgery or procedure, we want you know Baptist Health is a safe place for care.
Your Virtual Care Needs
Caring for your health shouldn’t stop due to COVID-19. Our physicians can diagnose, treat, prescribe medications virtually, and conduct annual wellness checks.
In-House COVID-19 Testing
We perform in-house COVID-19 testing on patients admitted to a Baptist Health hospital or Emergency Department, which differs from drive-thru site testing. If you had a COVID 19 test performed at a Baptist Health Laboratory, this fact sheet will answer many of your questions and give you important background information about your test.
COVID-19 Updates for Patients & Visitors Additional Content Section 3
Events, Meetings, Tours and Classes
To reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, we have canceled most of our in-person classes, events, tours and meetings. Some classes will take place virtually. You will receive a notification if your event has been canceled or is available online.
We apologize for the inconvenience, and we will provide updates on any rescheduled events and classes as quickly as possible.
If you have any questions, please contact us at covid19@bmcjax.com.
Current Online Classes
We are now offering some of our maternity classes virtually. Register for any of these classes: