Our hospital's current visitor information
At Parkland Medical Center, we recognize the valuable role family, friends and significant others play in your recovery. We welcome your visitors throughout your hospital stay but also respect your desire to restrict visitors at any time. Make sure to notify your nurse of your preferences.
You may designate a support person to accompany you through all courses of your treatment except when it poses a risk to you, the visitor or other patients.
Visiting hours
Visiting hours will vary from unit to unit based on both patient and hospital needs. For the most up-to-date visiting hours, contact the nurse's station in the unit you are trying to visit.
Special guidelines apply for visitors to the intensive care unit (ICU), sometimes referred to as the critical care unit (CCU).
Visitor guidelines
Visitors are asked to follow these guidelines:
- Alcohol, disruptive or violent behavior, street drugs and weapons are prohibited.
- Avoid visiting if you have a cold, cough, sore throat or communicable disease.
- Children under 12 are welcome if they do not show any signs of respiratory illness or communicable disease. They must be accompanied by an adult at all times and should not be left unattended.
- Emergency room (ER) visitors must be age 16 or older.
- Flowers and plants are not allowed in the ICU.
- For safety, only non-latex balloons are allowed in the hospital.
- Smoking is not permitted anywhere in or around the hospital.
Visits may be interrupted and you may be asked to leave the room when treatments are delivered or if patients are scheduled for tests or treatments in other locations.
If you are planning on staying overnight, explore our extensive amenities for patients and visitors and ask the nursing staff about arranging overnight accommodations.
Contact a patient
To phone a patient at Parkland, call (603) 432-1500 and ask to be connected to the patient or room number.
If you would like to mail something to a patient's room, address your mail in the following way:
Patient's Name
Patient's Room Number
Parkland Medical Center
One Parkland Dr
Derry, NH 03038
Visitor infection prevention
Be aware of your responsibility as a visitor for infection prevention. Handwashing is the best way to prevent the spread of infection. Wash your hands before and after making contact with patients, after using the bathroom, after handling contaminated items, before eating and before preparing food for someone else to eat.
Comply with notices on patients' doors concerning isolation precautions, such as "Contact Precautions," "Droplet Precautions," or "Airborne Precautions." Before entering the room, ask the nursing staff for any pertinent patient information to ensure the safest possible visits.
COVID-19 policies
We have resumed our pre-COVID-19 visitor policy.
Effective April 3, 2023: Masks will no longer be universally required in this facility, and instead will be optional for patients, visitors, and staff. This change is due to a low community level of COVID-19. Please wear a mask if you have flu or COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19, or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. We will continue to make masks available at the public and employee entrances for those who choose to wear a mask while in our facility.
You may enter the hospital daily through the main entrance from 8:00am to 8:00pm. If you are entering outside of these standard visitation hours, use the emergency room (ER) entrance. While visitation has returned to pre-pandemic protocols, there are several exceptions still in place:
- COVID-19 patient visitors will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
- ER patients are limited to two visitors at a time.
- Overnight patients are limited to one visitor in the following areas:
- Confused and/or anxious patients
- Designated support person for patients with a disability
- End of life
- Pediatrics
- Pre/post-surgery patient advocates
Exceptions may be made for extenuating circumstances after consultation with the administrator on call. Thank you for your cooperation with these restrictions as we work together to end this pandemic.
Facts about vaccination
We encourage our staff, patients and visitors to get vaccinated from COVID-19. To learn more about where and when you can get a COVID-19 vaccine, please visit vaccines.gov or call (800) 232-0233.
See the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) resource page for extensive information and the latest recommendations regarding COVID-19 vaccination.
Why get vaccinated?
Immunization helps save millions of lives every year. Whereas most medicines treat or cure diseases, vaccines can help prevent them by working with your body's natural defenses to build protection. When you receive a vaccine, your immune system responds.
Vaccines prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, and help people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that globally, immunization currently prevents between two and three million deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles.
COVID-19 vaccines work with your immune system so your body will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed. Other steps, like covering your mouth and nose with a mask and staying at least six feet away from others, may help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others. Together, vaccination, while following the CDC's recommendations for protecting yourself and others, will offer the best protection from COVID-19.