Mount Nittany Health on Friday expanded inpatient visitation hours and increased the number of visitors who can accompany outpatients.
Inpatients at the medical center can now have two visitors between 11:30 a.m. and 8 p.m., according to an update on the health system’s website. Inpatient visitations previously were limited to a designated visitor between 2 and 6 p.m.
Patients at the emergency department, medical center outpatient services and physician group offices may now be accompanied by two visitors after previously being limited to one and only if needed.
Visitations to the Behavioral Health Unit and Women’s and Children’s Services are determined by unit policy.
Masks are still required at all Mount Nittany Health care facilities.
The health system has periodically adjusted its visitation policy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in response to local conditions.
“By reopening our visitation hours, we look forward to improving the experience of our patients by enabling them to have the support of their loved ones while they are cared for in our facilities,” the health system wrote in a post on its Facebook page.
“Thank you to everyone who has been impacted by the changes in visitation over the past two years. We recognize that the limited visitation policy has been a challenge for patients, loved ones, and everyone at Mount Nittany Health, and it is through your efforts that we are able to make this welcome change.”
Centre County has been at the Centers for Disease Control’s low community level for COVID-19 the last two weeks and 14 of the last 16. Community levels measure new cases per 100,000 people, COVID-19 hospital admissions and percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients over a seven-day period.
For the week of June 9-15, had a case rate of 114.54 and 6.7 new COVID admissions per 100,000 people over the last week, with 4.5% of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 inpatients, all down from a week ago.
Mount Nittany Medical Center has eight COVID-19 inpatients as of noon on Friday and has had average daily COVID inpatient census of 7.7 over the last seven days.
Centre County added 214 total new cases over the last week, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, a 22% decrease from new cases recorded the previous seven days. The county’s seven-day rolling average for new cases is 30.5, down from 39.1 a week ago.
