Patients & Visitors
Staying calm improves care
For your upcoming visit to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, please remember that calmness helps healing. Our staff are here to help, and other patients appreciate a quiet space that helps people relax and focus on their health and care. Family members and other visitors, patients, and our staff, are all encouraged to focus on healing. Let’s help each other.
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center is expanding visitation in a number of areas so patients and families can enjoy additional time together.
The visitation expansion, adjusted on May 8, 2023, includes:
Adult Inpatients: Two visitors per patient are permitted at the bedside between 8 am and 8 pm.
Emergency Department (ED): One visitor is permitted while in the waiting area, then two visitors once in a room.
End of Life: Two visitors at a time are permitted 24 hours a day. As space allows, up to four visitors may be permitted for specific periods of time.
Labor and Delivery: During delivery, two people over the age of 18 are permitted at the bedside; this includes the support person. After delivery, siblings under the age of 18 may be permitted with approval.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Two parents/guardians per patient are permitted 24 hours a day. One additional visitor may be at the bedside from 8 am and 8 pm. Siblings under the age of 18 may be permitted with approval.
Pediatric Inpatients: Two parents/guardians per patient are permitted 24 hours a day at the bedside. One additional visitor may be at the bedside from 8 am to 8 pm. Siblings under the age of 18 may be permitted with approval.
Surgery/Procedure: Two visitors are permitted.
Patients with outpatient appointments are welcome to bring a support person with them to their appointment.
For pediatric outpatient appointments, up to two parents/guardians/primary caregivers are permitted to accompany the patient to the appointment.
Masks are now optional in most areas of our facilities for most people. This change applies to staff, patients, and visitors.
Facemasks are required:
- In cancer treatment and infusion centers).
- If someone has:
- signs of respiratory illness such as congestion, cough, runny nose, and sore throat
- been diagnosed with respiratory illness (COVID-19, flu, etc.)
- had a known exposure to COVID-19 (within 10 days)
We ask that everyone extend kindness and understanding of one another’s comfort and needs, this is a big step forward. At Northern Light Health, we support masking to prevent the spread of respiratory illness, and respect that many people will continue to wear masks to protect themselves and others.
Staff, patients, and visitors are welcome to continue to wear masks if they choose, and patients may request care team members wear masks while they are receiving care. If you would like your care team members to wear a mask, please let us know!
This decision was made with a great deal of thoughtful consideration, examination of infection rates and hospitalization data, and with patient and staff safety as our top priority. Many healthcare systems and facilities across the U.S. have taken this step, and at Northern Light Health we worked with our clinical leaders to develop a plan to update our masking policy based on best practices that we believe is right for us and for our patients.
It's possible we’ll need to mask again.
Patient and staff safety are our priorities. The decision to change our masking policy is based on data that shows we can safely care for patients unmasked at this time. If respiratory infection rates rise among patients or team members, we may need to mask up to protect one another and the people in our care. We know that we can count of you if this happens. And, if it does, we will make sure we share that information with you.
Patients
Decisions about our health and healthcare are among the most personal choices we make in life. At Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, we understand the significance of these decisions, and we're grateful for the opportunity to serve you. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center's staff is trained to respect your individuality, your privacy, and your dignity. Our goal is to think always of the patient first. In fact, you may see reminders and signs of our Patient First philosophy around the medical center. It means that while you are here, we will do everything we can to make you comfortable, both physically and emotionally.
Our team of healthcare professionals offers countless special skills, all coming together to provide the most satisfactory hospital experience possible. We try to anticipate the needs of each patient, but if you feel something is missing in our efforts, please talk to a member of your care team. For answers to questions your care team cannot resolve, please contact Patient Experience by dialing x38110 from any hospital phone or 973-8110 from outside the hospital during regular business hours.
Please take a moment and click on the links on the left for more information of what's available to you at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Visitors
Visits from family and friends are an important part of the recovery process for patients, and to keep everyone safe, we may continue to adjust our visitor policy.
Please be aware the patients have a right to request a restricted status. If a patient makes this request, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center may not confirm the patient's presence in our facility, or accept mail, flowers, or phone calls on his or her behalf.
At this time, out of town visitors may want to consider connecting with loved ones by phone or video chat. If you visit, please review our visitor restrictions.