Patients + Visitors

For the safety of patients, visitors and staff, the following visitor restrictions are in place at this time, regardless of vaccination status. Effective March 8, 2022, our visitor policy is:

• Visiting hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
• Patients are limited to one or two visitors at a time.
• Visitors will be screened for illness upon arrival.
• Visitors are required to wear a mask at all times, even if vaccinated.
• Visitors must sign in at the nurse’s desk.
• Visitors must stay with the patient during the visit.

Visiting specific patients or care areas:

• Inpatient: Patients are limited to one or two visitors at a time, between the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Labor & Delivery and Maternal-Newborn: Patients may continue to have their support person. One visitor is allowed without hourly restrictions.
• Outpatient: Patients are permitted to have one support person with them.
• Emergency Department: Patients are permitted one support person. Visitors are allowed without any hourly restrictions.
• Breast Health Center: Patients may have one support person.
• Behavioral Health: Visitors must schedule a visit in advance. Visitors must show an ID and will be screened prior to visiting.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to help keep everyone safe.

If you have any questions about where to park or need assistance finding a space, ask the on-duty security person or the receptionist in the main lobby.

Valet Parking

Free valet parking is available to patients from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thank you for respecting that all our facilities and campuses are tobacco-free/smoke-free. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on campus.

No arrangements or bouquets that contain latex balloons will be accepted. Because the latex proteins become airborne when one of these balloons pops, it could predispose anyone in the vicinity to a potentially dangerous allergic reaction; for this reason, we will no longer allow latex in our facilities.

MelroseWakefield Hospital and Lawrence Memorial Hospital will shift from a mandatory to optional masking policy at all facilities across our health system effective Friday, May 12, 2023.

This decision is aligned with our statewide clinical community and guidance issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Tufts Medicine Lowell General Hospital has made changes to our policies and practices firmly based on science and the recommendations of our infectious disease experts. The safety and well-being of our patients, visitors and our staff remain our top priority.

We will respect the decision of individuals who will feel more comfortable wearing a mask.

Data show that “one-way masking” is an effective way to help avoid contracting COVID-19. We also recognize that vaccines and natural immunity have lessened the severity of COVID-19 for many and that transmission events within healthcare settings have been rare.

MelroseWakefield Hospital and Lawrence Memorial Hospital have demonstrated an exceptional level of care, compassion and respect throughout the pandemic, and we know that will continue as we move forward. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Mask Guidelines

Who will be required to wear a hospital-issued mask beginning Friday, May 12?

1. Patients with respiratory symptoms should wear a hospital-issued mask while in waiting rooms and hallways.
2. Patients and visitors who have had a known close contact exposure to COVID-19 within the previous 10 days should wear a mask. 

Is it really safe to stop wearing masks for those entering a healthcare facility?

Vaccines, immunity from infection, and highly effective therapies have made COVID-19 similar to other respiratory viruses, for which universal masking has never been mandated. At Tufts Medicine, all staff, patients, and visitors are welcome to wear a mask or N95 if they prefer to do so.

Can another individual demand that I wear a mask even if I don’t have symptoms?

MelroseWakefield Hospital and Lawrence Memorial Hospital is now a mask-optional environment. Those who do not have symptoms of a respiratory illness but choose to wear a mask are welcome to do so.

Can I ask my healthcare professional to wear a mask during my visit?

“One-way masking” (wearing a high-quality, well-fitted mask) is protective, so patients should feel safe wearing a mask even if healthcare workers do not.

Can a patient or visitor wear their own mask?

In the past, we required that visitors either change into our facility’s masks or place ours over their own. Now that we no longer require masks, patients and visitors may freely wear their own N95s or masks. Patients who have respiratory illness symptoms must wear a hospital-issued mask if tolerated when in a waiting room or hallway, and if they wish to wear their own, must place our hospital-issued mask over theirs so we can be sure their source control protection meets a minimum standard. Visitors to patients with communicable diseases must wear hospital-issued personal protective equipment according to posted precautions signage.

Will the mask mandates come back again in the future?

It is entirely possible that mask mandates could come back in one of the following ways:

1. A return to a statewide healthcare mask mandate in response to COVID-19 or other respiratory virus infection data
2. A regional or local mask mandate in response to a rise in cases locally
3. A unit-level mask mandate imposed by our Infection Prevention team in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 or another respiratory illness

Chaplains provide support to patients and families during their hospital stay. They are available for all faiths including those with no religious affiliation and, by request, they can facilitate visits by clergy of all denominations.

They can be reached seven days a week and provide support for all patients and family members. They can assist with:

• Emotional distress
• Receiving a new diagnosis
• A patient who is anxious about a medical procedure
• Those in need of support of prayer, scripture, sacraments or other healing rituals
• Those who need help in identifying resources of faith
• A patient exploring life’s meaning as a result of a health crisis
• Those who need support in a decision-making situation
• Those who need support and comfort at the end of life and at time of death
   

For more information, please call us at 781-979-3010.

Eucharistic ministers

Eucharistic ministers from local Catholic parishes offer prayer and Eucharist to Catholic patients every day (except Saturday). For sacramental emergencies, there is an on-call priest.

Chapel + meditation room

We offer a chapel at MelroseWakefield Hospital and a meditation room at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. They are open 24 hours a day for prayer and quiet reflection.