CoxHealth announces a change to the Visitor Policy for patient in the Baby and Mother Units effective immediately.

Patients of the Labor and Delivery and Postpartum units may have two visitors per day. One support person may remain with the patient 24/7 while they are in the hospital while the second visitor may also be present during the baby’s birth, but will fall under the health system’s current visiting hours between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. once the mother transitions to postpartum status. These visitors must be the same two people for the duration of the hospitalization.

“This is an exciting moment, and one we celebrate alongside our patients,” says Karen Kramer, Chief Hospital Officer and Incident Commander for COVID-19 response at CoxHealth in a press release. “We have not enjoyed the restrictions over the past months, but believe they were necessary to help limit the potential spread of COVID-19. Having a baby is a significant milestone, and it makes us very glad to be at this moment where it is safe to have more visitors with these patients at this pivotal time.”

Visitors must be at least 18 years old, remain masked at all times while on campus, pass a temperature and symptom screening when entering the facility, and limit their movement to the patient’s room and the public restrooms.

It is also noted in the release that the change does not apply to the Perinatal Care Unit where the one visitor per day guideline remains in place.

The change affects CoxHealth’s maternity hospitals in Springfield, Branson and Monett.

For more information about CoxHealth’s visitor policy, click here.