Overview
General policies
If you are positive for COVID-19 within 10 days (or 20 days for immunocompromised patients) of an in-person appointment, contact your clinic to discuss your upcoming visit.
All patients and visitors to UW Health clinic and hospital locations are required to answer screening questions regarding COVID-19.
Construction updates
Plan ahead
University Hospital parking garage
For the next several months, maintenance projects will temporarily close sections of the University Hospital parking ramp. For details about these projects and a timeline, visit transportation.wisc.edu. For your own safety:
* Follow all marked detours when driving
* Do not park in any blocked-off areas
* Do not walk through areas marked with caution tape or cones
* Do not move any cones or caution tape
Digestive Health Center
Construction on the Digestive Health Center is scheduled to begin in October 2025, and we anticipate it to be complete in 2028. Due to ongoing construction, parking locations and traffic patterns may change. Please plan ahead for potential travel delays. Visit the Digestive Health Center page for details.
Mask guidelines
Face coverings
Patients with symptoms of respiratory illness are required to wear a mask in all settings. Visitors with symptoms of respiratory illness or a positive COVID-19 test in the previous 10 days are not permitted.
Illinois
Masks are required for all UW Health staff, patients and visitors during patient interactions at:
UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center Rockford
All high-risk inpatient units (Critical Care Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unity, 7th floor oncology unit)
Emergency departments
Immediate care
All procedural and surgical areas
All other settings
Masks are optional in all low-risk inpatient units, ambulatory clinics main entrances, information desks and cafeteria areas
Wisconsin
Masks are required for all inpatient units and in high-risk ambulatory clinics, including:
Cancer clinics
Chemotherapy clinics
Critical care units
Dialysis
Emergency departments
Infectious disease clinics
Infusion centers
Johnson Creek Regional Cancer Center
Pulmonary clinics
Radiation oncology
Rheumatology
Transplant clinic
Urgent care
Masks are optional in low-risk ambulatory clinics and in main entrances, information desks and cafeteria areas.
Patients may request that care team members wear masks in an area designated as ‘masking optional,’ and staff and providers will honor the request.
Barrier masks
Patients who arrive where masks are required will be provided a barrier mask to wear. In addition, the mask must cover both the nose and mouth and be worn the entire time. Patients who are not able to tolerate wearing a mask over the mouth and nose should contact their health care provider by phone or through MyChart. Immunocompromised patients should consider wearing a tight-fitting mask like a KN95 or N95.
Visitor info
Primary support persons and visitors
Our goal is to provide a safe, healing environment. For everyone’s safety, please respect these guidelines.
General guidelines
Primary support persons, visitors and health care decision-makers who are currently experiencing or recently experienced any acute respiratory symptoms, such as a cough or shortness of breath, or diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 10 days are not permitted.
Do not visit if you are experiencing a fever, cough, sore throat or body aches
Visitors under 16 years of age must be supervised at all times by an adult. For adults in the emergency department, hospital and certain outpatient settings, the adult cannot be the patient.
We understand the importance of keeping patients connected with their loved ones while receiving care. To stay connected we encourage patients and families to use phone or video chat with anyone who is unable to visit.
For the safety of our patients, visitors and staff at our hospitals and clinics, we provide a latex-safe environment. This means our buildings are free of latex powder. For this reason, latex balloons are not allowed at UW Hospitals and Clinics, American Family Children's Hospital, Swedish American Hospital and Women and Children's Hospital.
Primary support persons and visitors
Note, the following includes our locations in Wisconsin and Illinois.
Emergency Department
2 visitors
University Hospital, East Madison Hospital and Swedish American Hospital
2 adult visitors
No limit on total number of visitors per stay
Visiting hours: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily
Women and Children's Hospital
All visitors must be assessed at the Security Desk
Urgent or Immediate Care
Primary support/visitor number not restricted
Clinic locations
Primary support/visitor number not restricted
Nexus App
Easy access to the information you need
UW Health Nexus is a smartphone app that connects multiple resources into a single location. MyChart, Care Anywhere, UW Health provider profiles and driving directions to all of our UW Health facilities are available at your fingertips. For patients with appointments at Eastpark Medical Center you can also take advantage of the unique door-to-clinic wayfinding feature to navigate to your clinic location.