Temporary Visitor Restrictions to Begin at UNC Health Rex on January 8

Age-based restrictions are necessary to protect patients and teammates from respiratory illnesses 

RALEIGH, N.C. – Jan. 5, 2024 – UNC Health Rex will implement temporary age-based visitor restrictions in all inpatient areas at our main campus in Raleigh, at our UNC Health Rex Holly Springs Hospital, and our Clinics beginning on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.

• Visitors aged 11 and younger will be prohibited from all inpatient areas and all waiting rooms.
• All visitors with respiratory symptoms are prohibited from these same areas.
• Normal visiting policies will remain in effect for the remaining areas within UNC Health Rex.
• Healthy visitors of any age will remain welcome in our lobbies and retail/food locations.

“UNC Health Rex is seeing and treating more patients with respiratory illnesses including Covid and flu. We expect these numbers to continue to increase in the coming weeks,” said Dr. Meera Udayakumar, UNC Health Rex’s chief medical officer. “We recognize the important role families and loved ones play in the treatment plan and healing process. Nevertheless, these temporary visitor restrictions are necessary to help us protect our patients, teammates and community during this respiratory virus season.”

**Please note: If you’re planning to visit a loved one in the hospital, check with their clinical team or on the hospital’s website under “Visitor Policy” for any updates.

If you are feeling sick or have recently experienced any symptom of respiratory illnesses, please stay home. We strongly continue to encourage all visitors to wear masks in our hospitals.

Our medical and infection prevention teams continuously monitor key criteria to help guide hospital leaders’ decision-making of when to impose and lift visitor restrictions to protect patient and teammate safety. We will share updates about when these temporary restrictions might lift as available.

About UNC Health
UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of 15 hospitals, including UNC Health Rex in Raleigh and Holly Springs, 19 hospital campuses and more than 900 clinics along with the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). It exists to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve and to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina SOM. UNC Health provided more than $522 million in charity care during the last five years. Our hospitals have received numerous awards and recognition for quality care, patient safety and the overall patient experience. For more information, please visit unchealth.org.