Patient Safety While in Our Facilities

We have visitor policies in place to help keep our patients, staff and communities safe. We make changes to our policies based on several factors. Please check the visitor policy for your location before your visit.

If you are sick, you should not visit a Northwestern Medicine facility unless you are seeking care.

In most cases, we no longer require routine COVID-19 testing before procedures or hospital admission.

If you are being admitted to a Northwestern Medicine hospital, you may need COVID-19 testing if:

• You have symptoms of COVID-19
• You are being admitted to an inpatient Behavioral Health Unit

If you are having a procedure at a Northwestern Medicine facility, you may need COVID-19 testing if:

• You were recently exposed to COVID-19
• You have symptoms of COVID-19
• You are a living donor or patient scheduled for any solid organ transplant, including heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas

Masks are welcome at Northwestern Medicine. We offer masks at all entrances. You can also ask a staff member for a mask.

You may need to wear a mask in some areas.

• The care team may ask you to wear a mask. 
• Some areas have signs that say you must wear a mask.

Patients must wear a mask if they have:

• Cough
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Fever
• Rash

If you are in an area where a mask is required, you must wear a medical mask. You may not wear a cloth mask or a mask with an exhalation valve unless you put a medical mask over it.

Get guidance for use of masks and how to wear a face mask.

Keeping hands and surfaces clean helps reduce the chance of spreading germs.

Our Environmental Services teams focus on detailed cleaning in our hospitals and physician offices. They carefully clean surfaces that people touch often, such as doors and countertops.

We offer hand sanitizer stations for your use throughout our facilities.