Mount Nittany Health puts visitor restrictions in place at State College hospital, medical offices

New safety measures are in place at Mount Nittany Medical Center, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania tops 100.

Effective Tuesday, visitors for hospitalized patients will no longer be permitted, except for special circumstances, according to a message to patients and community members from Mount Nittany Health, which runs the medical center and several outpatient centers in the county.

“We understand the importance of the support of friends and family to the healing process and we are taking these steps in the interest of your health and the health of the community,” Mount Nittany said. “We strongly encourage you to use other forms of support where possible, such as phone calls and video chats using cellphones or other mobile devices.”

Only one caregiver can accompany patients at the emergency department, Mount Nittany Physician Group locations, outpatient locations on and off campus and the Cancer Care Partnership.

Also starting Tuesday, patients with nonessential/elective services scheduled at the medical center and Mount Nittany Physician Group through April 30 will be rescheduled. Operations will continue for those who require emergency and acute services and are in active treatment at both the medical center and physician group practices.

If a patient’s service needs to be rescheduled, they will be notified by Mount Nittany Health staff, the release said.

The measures were put in place to “protect our patients and staff, and to ensure continued access to essential health services,” Mount Nittany said in the release.

For questions regarding inpatient visitation or outpatient visits at the medical center and emergency department, call 231-7000. For questions regarding accompanying patients to a scheduled appointment at Mount Nittany Physician Group practices, call the practice directly. A complete listing of phone numbers can be found at mountnittany.org.

Geisinger and Penn State Health have also announced that elective procedures at their facilities are on hold.

As of noon Wednesday, there are 133 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Pennsylvania. There are no confirmed cases in Centre County.

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 8:36 PM.