Cedar Rapids Hospitals lift most visitor restrictions

UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital and Mercy Medical Center lifted visitor restriction policies at the hospitals, obstetrics and pediatrics areas. However, restrictions remain in both hospitals’ Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), where only parents and grandparents in good health are permitted. Children are not allowed to visit the NICU.

The lift on these restrictions is due to the reduced number of influenza cases in the Cedar Rapids Metro area. Both hospitals will continue to be in close contact with the Linn County Department of Public Health and, if trigger points indicate an increase in influenza activity in our community, the restrictions will be put back into place to provide optimal safety for patients during this flu season.

Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke’s will continue to take precautions in guarding against the spread of seasonal influenza. Both hospitals have hand sanitizer dispensers located throughout their facilities. Visitors should wash their hands before and after visiting a patient, and should cough or sneeze into a tissue or shirtsleeve.