Effective July 1, 2021

For the safety of staff and patients during the pandemic, Sleepy Eye Medical Center has established visitor guidelines for various service areas. All visitors must pass the screening process prior to being allowed entrance.

Clinic, Urgent Care, Outreach, Laboratory, and Radiology Patients

May be accompanied by two individuals* after passing the screening process.

Hospital and Emergency Department

Hospital inpatients and patients in the emergency department will be allowed visits by two healthy individuals* after passing the screening process.

*Please Note: Once the designated visitor/visitors leave, he/she will not be able to re-enter that day.

Exceptions to the Above

• Compassionate exceptions may be made under certain circumstances, allowing additional visitors. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Pediatric patients (patients under 18 years of age) will be allowed two legal guardian/parent visitors.
• Patients requesting spiritual care will be allowed one clergy member. (This excludes the two visitors per day.)

 Guidelines for Approved Visitors

• All visitors will be screened for symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Visitors who do not pass the screening will not be allowed to accompany a patient.
• Visitors must wear a mask and symptom-screening sticker at all times in the facility.
  • SEMC will provide a mask if they do not have one. Any visitor who does not comply will be asked to leave.
• Visitors under the age of 18 will not be allowed.
• Visitors must use hand hygiene frequently when in the building.
• If there are capacity issues in the waiting area, visitors may be asked to wait in their car or outside the building.
• SEMC staff will provide instruction to approved visitors before entering patients’ rooms: hand hygiene, social distancing, limiting surfaces touched, and the use of PPE according to hospital policy.
• Inpatient visiting hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Patient-specific Visitor Guidelines

COVID-19/PUI Patients

• Visitors will not be allowed, except under end-of-life compassionate exceptions, for patients with confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 (PUI).

Labor and Delivery Patients

• One designated support person (spouse or paternal partner) will be allowed during delivery and the patient stay.
• In addition, a doula or “labor support individual” will be allowed to be with the obstetric patient through the entire labor and delivery and up to two hours post-partum.
• Two visitors per day (excluding the support) will be allowed.
  • Ante-partum and post-partum areas can include up to two minors in addition to the two visitors. Children ages 5-17 must be from the same household as the patient in order to visit.
  • No visitors under 5 years of age.

These visitor restrictions will remain in place until further notice. We encourage family members to consider other ways to connect with their loved ones via phone and other devices.