Baystate Health Announces Changes in Visitor Policy

SPRINGFIELD — As more people in the community are being vaccinated, Baystate Health has updated its visitor-policy guidelines for each tier and has opened to visitation in the inpatient units and Emergency Departments at all Baystate hospitals.

“Visitors — loved ones and others — are known to have significant benefits to the healing and recovery processes of hospitalized patients. We have been longing for the day when we could safely reintroduce visitors to the Baystate Health hospital environment and have now reached a point where this is possible,” said Dr. Andrew Artenstein, chief physician executive and chief academic officer at Baystate Health.

All Baystate Hospitals are now in the yellow tier — including Baystate Medical Center and Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, and Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer — allowing for one visitor at a time for patients who are not in the ICU, two visitors at a time for patients in the ICU, and two parents or guardians at a time for pediatric patients. In addition, visiting hours have been extended from noon to 8 p.m.

All visitors must adhere to Baystate Health infection-control practices that are in effect throughout the health system, including wearing facemasks, frequent hand washing, maintaining a physical distance of six feet when possible, and no shared food sources.

Red, yellow, green, and gray tiers (also called zones) still remain for visitation based on CDC, DPH, and state guidelines, but the policy details within the tiers will change. To stay up to date and see exceptions for each tier, visit baystatehealth.org/patients/visiting.