Our Lady of the Lake Health Visiting Hours & Guidelines
Guidelines for Our Guests
Visits from family and friends are an important part of the healing process, and we welcome you to our campuses.
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Visitation Policy Update
As our ministry continues to respond to COVID-19, providing a healing and quiet environment for your safety and the safety of our team members remain our highest priority. Our Lady of the Lake will allow patients to have an essential advocate (support person) remain at the bedside at all times, throughout your hospital stay. The advocate should be the patient’s spouse or close relative who can help make healthcare decisions, if needed. The patient will identify their advocate’s name on admission. If the primary advocate cannot stay at the bedside, the patient may select an alternate advocate (spouse or close relative) to replace the primary advocate while he/she needs relief. Visiting hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If the essential advocate leaves, he/she will not be allowed back in the facility after visiting hours end at 8 p.m. He/she may return the next morning when visiting hours resume at 8 a.m. (unless an overnight admit or end-of-life situation).
- Patients who are not COVID positive and not in an ICU setting may have other visitors, ages 12 years or older, during hospital visiting hours of 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. We encourage visitors to visit in short durations and keep groups of visitors to no more than four people at a bedside at any given time, to promote a quiet and healing environment for all patients.
- For patients admitted to the Intensive Care Units, in addition to the essential advocate, two additional visitors (ages 12 or older) will be allowed in the room at one time (a total of three) during visitation hours of 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. Other visitors may wait in the ICU Waiting Room.
- For patients admitted with COVID-19, one essential visitor/advocate will be allowed per day and will be allowed to visit following ICU or inpatient visiting guidelines depending on which unit the patient is admitted to.
Patient Visitation Guidelines
Visitors will need to meet certain screening criteria and adhere to guidelines in order to gain entry into the facility. This is for your safety and the safety of those providing your care.
- All visitors:
- Must present a form of legal ID to receive a visitor badge
- Must be 12 years of age or older
- Will receive a nametag that must be worn throughout the facility and be screened for symptoms (fever greater than or equal to 100.4°F, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, congestion that differs from their typical seasonal allergies, body aches, fatigue, loss of smell/taste, diarrhea) daily. If a visitor says “YES” to any of the screening symptoms, they will not be allowed entry into the facility.
Masks
Our Lady of the Lake Health has adjusted the masking requirement to follow the Louisiana Department of Health guidelines:
- Visitors and patients who are vaccinated are not required to wear a mask while visiting our facilities.
- If the patient and visitors are vaccinated and from the same household, no mask is needed once they are in the patient's room or in general areas throughout our facilities. Masks are encouraged in waiting rooms and when interacting with a medical provider in the patient's room.
- If the patient and/or the visitor are unvaccinated, we ask that they wear a mask for the duration of the visit.
- Patients who are immunocompromised or seeking care for respiratory illness are encouraged to wear a mask throughout our facilities, regardless of vaccination status.
Masks are required for ALL team members, regardless of vaccination status, during any interaction with a patient. This includes but is not limited to:
- Registration and check-in areas
- Procedural areas
- Patient rooms
- Therapy sessions
- Long-term care facilities, which are required by the state to mask in all areas inside the facility unless eating or drinking.
Emergency Department
Patients will be allowed one essential advocate at the bedside during the duration of the emergency stay and one additional visitor (total of two).
Surgery Patients
One essential advocate will be allowed at bedside during the entire duration of the patient’s stay. Each surgical patient is allowed to have an unlimited number of visitors in the surgical waiting areas during the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Exceptions to the Visitor Policy:
- End of Life: Patients admitted for end-of-life evaluation and treatment, or patients being evaluated for and/or receiving hospice care, including persons under investigation, suspected COVID-19 and COVID-19 positive patients, may have immediate family members visit. The number of visitors and times for visitation will be coordinated with the unit’s Director of Nursing or House Manager.
- End of life is defined as anticipated death and/or planned withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions (e.g., ventilator).
Connecting Virtually
We understand and recognize how important the support of family and loved ones are to our patients while we care for them. We encourage our patients to visit virtually with their loved ones through smart phones, so they can still be connected and feel supported during their time with us. We have iPads in the hospital to help facilitate virtual communication between patients and their loved ones, who may be unable to visit at this time.
Hand Hygiene
- Visitors and patients should wash their hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitizer.
- Washing your hands with soap and water is the preferred method unless otherwise indicated. Hand sanitizer stations are also available throughout the hospital. The isolation sign on the patient's door will indicate the best method for hand hygiene.
- Hand hygiene should always be done before and after patient contact.
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital
Eight (8) total visitors are allowed during visiting hours, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Two (2) parents/caregivers will be allowed to stay 24/7 and are considered in the eight (8) approved people to enter our hospital. Children who are accompanied by an adult on the visitor list are not required to be on the list. Children less than 18 years of age are allowed to visit during visiting hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. We will limit the number of people in a room, including children, to four (4) at a time.
In the NICU and PICU, all visitors must be at least 18 years old to visit. Siblings under 18 years old will go through a separate process to be allowed to visit these 2 areas.
Every visitor, parent and caregiver must present a valid government-issued photo ID to receive a badge. The ID will run through a national database to screen for potential safety risks to our patients, including sexual offenders, criminal activity or other risk factors. Your visitor badge will be valid for the day it is issued.
Our security team is happy to provide you with an escort to or from your car. For assistance, please call Security Dispatch at (225) 374-1400.
If you are a parent/caregiver and need to leave for any reason, please notify the nursing team if you would like to appoint a caregiver in your absence so they may also receive a badge.
Your visitor badge will be valid for the day it is issued.