With the health and safety of patients, staff and the community in mind during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network are implementing a common “No Visitation, No Access Policy” for all their hospitals and outpatient facilities, including Lehigh Valley Physician Group and St. Luke’s Physician Group offices.

In the hospitals and inpatient facilities, no visitors are permitted except under these special circumstances:

•Visiting a patient nearing the end of life;

•Parent visiting a child in a pediatric ICU or neonatal ICU;

•One coach or partner per patient on labor and delivery unit;

•One visitor at a time for patients in inpatient hospice unit;

•One parent or guardian at a time for pediatric patients;

•One visitor to accompany patients for hospital discharge;

•One visitor for patients undergoing same-day surgeries and procedures;

•One visitor per patient in the Emergency Department; and

•No child under age 12 is permitted to visit in the hospital.

For all outpatient appointments, one visitor is permitted to accompany a patient for an outpatient appointment, procedure, same-day surgery or LVPG/SLPG office visit. They will make reasonable accommodations for pediatric visits, provided any sibling visitors are in good health.

Visitors allowed by exception must be in good health and are subject to a health screening, if necessary.

LVHN and St. Luke’s understand these revisions in visitation policies might present difficulties for some patients, family members and friends, and they are sympathetic to those concerns.

At the same time, they must be responsible to the communities they serve and do what’s best to protect everyone. We urge those who might be impacted to please cooperate with physicians, nurses and staff as they help our organizations fight COVID-19.

A united effort following this common policy will allow the facilities to return to the more normal lifestyle and activities everyone is accustomed to as quickly as possible.