Visitors at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton – Limited visitors allowed.
Visitors must connect with the unit care team to arrange a visit. 

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is limiting the number of visitors in our hospital as one measure of keeping the hospital safe for patients and our healthcare workers.

We recognize that family members, loved ones and all care partners are essential to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing of our patients, and are eager to reintroduce visitors in a safe, slow and staged approach to maintain the health and safety of patients and staff.

Like all Ontario hospitals, we follow government guidelines, which in March recommended closing hospitals to visitors. On June 15, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health recommended reintroducing visitors in a safe manner that takes into account the local situation of COVID-19, hospital pressures and ability to apply public safety measures, such as physical distancing.

As a result, St. Joe’s has developed a staged approach to reintroducing visitors into our hospital that will keep everyone safe. We want you to know that it is safe to be in our hospital.

Our visiting guidelines effective June 24 are:

Visitors not allowed in the following areas:

• Emergency department
• Psychiatric Emergency Service
• Urgent Care Centre
• Outpatient clinics

Please come alone to your appointment to help us ensure physical distancing and to allow for patients to come to clinics safely. In special circumstances, the Manager may approve a support person to accompany a patient to Outpatient clinic appointments. Any exception to the visitor restrictions must be approved by the unit or clinic manager.

NEW – Limited visitors allowed for inpatients. Please call the unit to arrange your visit:

• Visitors must connect with the care team on the unit to schedule your visiting. Please do not come to visit without arranging your visit with the unit care team. This helps us maintain physical distancing. 
• One visitor every other day.
• Visitors must be designated by the patient (Patients may designate one or two individuals who will be the only people able to visit)
• Patients will choose which of those two individuals will visit them on their designated day.
• Please connect with your care team who will help establish the schedule for visiting.

Limited exceptions exist for allowing more or additional visitors to inpatient areas, including:

• Compassionate grounds for palliative patients
• Partners (or a family member or friend) of women in labour and parents of babies in our Special Care Nursery
  • Patients in labour: One support person is permitted.
  • Patients staying overnight with a newborn on the Mother Baby Unit: One support person is permitted.
• Other special needs as determined by the care team

Visiting virtually and window visits

Please ask your care team about the possibility of visiting virtually, or having a window visit. We encourage all families to designate a point person who will connect with the patient's care team for consistent communication.

Our hospital is safe. However, it is your responsibility when you are in the hospital to help keep it safe.

• All visitors must be screened before entering the hospital. (Go to sjhhscreening.com to use your phone)
• Visitors must use designated entrances (Go to stjoes.ca/coronavirus for location of designated entrances)
• Masks will be supplied at the entrances. They must be worn at all times in the hospital.
• Please practice good hand hygiene when entering and leaving the hospital and entering and leaving the hospital unit.
• Please practice physical distancing in all public areas.
• You may visit only the designated patient and once you leave the unit and/or hospital, you cannot re-enter until the next designated visiting day.

If you have any questions about visiting your loved one, please contact their care team.

For more information about St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s services during the pandemic, please visit stjoes.ca/coronavirus.

For more information about screening at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, click here. You can get through screening faster by using our online screening tool at sjhhscreening.com right before entering the hospital.