Accessing Care During COVID-19

In these extraordinary times, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has taken extraordinary steps to ensure the health of our community – caring for the most vulnerable and preparing to meet an unprecedented need.

Our services have remained available for urgent needs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are safely seeing patients across our service lines and following new infection prevention protocols.

Our commitment to your care and safety has never been stronger.

COVID-19 Care & Testing

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital offers easy, professional and safe access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing to our community through a partnership with the state of New Hampshire.

Schedule a COVID-19 Test

What to do if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19

• If you have life-threatening symptoms like difficulty breathing or chest pressure, please call 911. 
• If you are experiencing common symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever or cough, please call your primary care provider (PCP) for guidance. If you do not have a PCP, you can also visit Express Care in Dover or Lee. 
• Your provider will give you instructions on how to get care without exposing other people to your illness. 

We Are Ready to Care for You. 

It is important to get the care you need for your health conditions. Delaying care for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) can have a lasting impact. Regular preventive care, even during our current pandemic, care can help foster a lifetime of wellness.

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and Wentworth Health Partners are here to help you connect with your care team in a convenient way that works for you or your family. 

What to Expect

You will notice differences when you visit our facilities. We have established new protocols to prevent the spread of illness, including enhanced cleaning methods, limiting visitors, screening anyone who enters our buildings, including staff, asking everyone to wear masks, re-arranging waiting areas to accommodate social distancing, and implementing new testing procedures to identify and isolate suspected COVID-19 patients. 

Screening

As part of our Safe Care Commitment, we are screening all patients and visitors on arrival for symptoms to protect them, their families and our staff, before they are welcomed into the hospital. You may be asked multiple times about any symptoms you are experiencing—please be patient. It is for your safety. 

To help us safely care for you, please notify your provider’s office if you have any upper respiratory symptoms before coming to the hospital, including new or worsening fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose/nasal congestion, shortness of breath, muscle aches, or inability to smell or taste.

Patients and visitors are required to wear a mask during their entire visit, maintain social distancing, and practice good hand hygiene.

Virtual Visits

We are pleased to offer virtual appointments using a “HealthCare Secure” version of Zoom developed by Mass General Brigham. This service is available with most Wentworth Health Partners physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, behavioral health therapists, rehab therapists, nutritionists, diabetes educators, nurses, and others. Call your provider’s office to find out if you are a candidate for virtual care.

Immediate Care

If you are experiencing symptoms that need urgent medical care, our Emergency Department, Express Care and Portsmouth Prompt Care locations are ready to provide expert care. Read more about Immediate Care options. 

Pregnancy & COVID-19

If you are pregnant, naturally you will have some questions about COVID-19 and how the virus could affect you, your baby and your birth plan. We want to reassure you that that we’re staying on top of this evolving situation and you can expect to receive the same great care you have always received during this time. The Women & Children's Center has created an online resource to answer some of the most common questions related to COVID-19. Read More Here. 

Visitor Guidelines

To continue to keep you, our patients, and our staff safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Wentworth-Douglass is asking visitors to abide by these guidelines. We appreciate your help and understanding.

We are currently limiting visitors coming into all Wentworth-Douglass Hospital facilities with these exceptions:

• Caregivers escorting patients to their appointments.
• End-of-life care.
• Two parents or guardians are allowed for each pediatric patient.
• One consistent adult visitor, caregiver or support person is allowed for admitted patients. 
• One adult visitor and siblings allowed for labor & delivery patients. 

Patient visitors under the age of 18 will be permitted if they are always masked and remain in the room with the patient. We do ask patients to make every effort to find alternate care arrangements for young children.

All visitors must be asymptomatic and will be screened for symptoms and provided a mask upon entry.

View Full Visitor Guidelines

Safe Care Commitment

Patient safety has always been at the heart of our mission – and now more than ever we continue to engage in vigilant prevention measures to reduce the risk of any infection while implementing additional protocols in response to the pandemic. 

These measures are in place to reduce the risk of spreading any infectious disease, including COVID-19:

Screening

Anyone who enters Wentworth-Douglass Hospital or any of its facilities with walk-in services will be screened upon entry. We will be asking a few simple questions and you may be asked to return home depending on the circumstances. 

Masks

Everyone in our facilities, both staff and patients, will be wearing procedural masks to help protect against the spread of COVID-19. You will be provided a mask upon entry and are asked to wear it throughout your visit.

Hand Hygiene

Anyone entering out buildings will be asked to sanitize their hands. Hand sanitizer stations are also available throughout our buildings.

Social Distancing

We ask everyone to help us practice good physical distancing -keeping at least 6 feet between yourself and others. You will notice change to our waiting rooms and other commons areas to help encourage this separation.

Cleaning

We are continuing our aggressive cleaning and disinfecting protocols, but are adding additional safeguards to prevent the spread of infection:

• Waiting rooms chairs will be sanitized throughout the day
• High-touch items such as magazines, puzzles, toys, coffee/snack stations, etc., have been removed from common areas.
• Inpatient rooms, emergency rooms, exam rooms, and ORs are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between patients, using CDC-approved methods, including the use of UV light robots.

Download Patient Safety Information Flyer (PDF)

Patient Safety Information (Spanish)

Patient Safety Information (Indonesian)