Supporting Families with Loved Ones in Hospital

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting at Bluewater Health has changed. Please consult our website for the most current visitor restrictions. Visits are now pre-arranged, with a family care partner, or essential visitor, identified by the patient on admission.

While the change was made to protect the well-being of the Sarnia-Lambton community, our patients and staff at Bluewater Health, it can be isolating for patients and challenging for staff to stay in touch with patients' family members. Families/care partners play a vital role in a patient’s care experience and healing, and staff are accustomed to providing patient information in person. The nursing stations welcome phone calls – there can be competing demands at certain times of the day, so please ask the charge nurse about the best time to call.

Bluewater Health has many supports in place to keep patients and their loved ones connected:

Drop Off Personal Items

Personal belongings (limited to the essentials listed below) or food items can be dropped off at the Russell Street entrance and a staff member will bring it to the patient floor. We can’t promise how quickly the items will get to the floor, though, so try to avoid sending things like coffee or ice cream as food items will not be refrigerated or reheated on the units.

Aids: glasses, hearing aids and extra batteries, dentures, shoes, canes and gait aids
Cell phones/chargers, laptops, tablets
Personal toiletries (new in package, if possible): soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, brush
Cultural: traditional medicine and prayer necessities
Unopened packaging or items placed in clear containers for cleaning
Reading material (e.g. large-print Reader’s Digest); large-print word puzzle books; craft/activity materials (e.g. knitting, colouring books and pencils); deck of cards; a family photo
Loose-fitting clothing and a robe or sweater/cardigan to keep shoulders warm

Please send clean items in a sealed zipper storage bag or clear plastic container, labelled with the patient’s name and complete room number. Canes and gait aids should be similarly clean and labelled. Bluewater Health is not responsible for personal items.