Mohawk Valley Health System to Update Visitation Policy Per NYS Guidance

The New York State Department of Health recently updated guidance on visiting hours for hospitals. To align with this new guidance, the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) has adjusted its visitation policy with the changes going into effect on Thursday, April 1, 2021:

The new visiting hour guidelines are as follows (changes are in bold):

Inpatient Hospital Units
- Visiting hours for inpatient hospital units are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.
- Each patient can have up to two visitors at a time during each two-hour visitation period.
- Patients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and patients with cognitive impairments including dementia may designate one support person to remain with them through their hospitalization. An additional visitor may also be with the patient during hospital-designated visiting hours.
Emergency Department (ED)
- Ambulatory ED patients may have two support people with them through the intake process and may rejoin them when their treatment is complete.
Visitor/Support Person Guidelines – Medical Appointments
- Patients attending a medical appointment may be accompanied by a companion.
For maternity patients
- Pregnant women will be allowed two labor support people once they are determined to be laboring or at the time they are a scheduled for an induction or Cesarean section. This includes a doula who, if requested, may accompany the patient throughout labor, delivery, and the postpartum period, including recovery, until discharge to home. The support persons can be the patient’s spouse, partner, sibling, parent, or other persons of their choice. These support persons may be with the patient outside of the hospital’s regular visiting hour blocks.