For Visitors

Visiting Hours

Last updated 3/29/21

General Visiting Procedures

Please follow these procedures when planning your visit. Additional guidelines are found below for specific hospital units.

We have restricted visitation to our hospital. All patients and visitors will be screened at designated entry points, including the Emergency Department.

A "No Visitor" policy will be in effect with a few exceptions as follows:

  • All visitors and patients entering the hospital are required to wear a hospital-issued mask. It must be worn at all times.
  • Patients admitted through the ED who are unable to provide their own medical history and consent may have one visitor, but only for as long as it takes to complete the admission.
  • Visitors must be a healthy adult, 18 years of age or older.
  • Visitors should not visit patients at our hospital if you have one or more symptoms of fever, cough or shortness of breath, have traveled in a COVID-19 area, or have encountered a person who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
  • Patients under COVID-19 investigation are not allowed to have any visitors, except for parents or guardians in PICU and NICU (see details below in the PICU and NICU sections). Other exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for certain compassionate care reasons.
  • Up to 2 visitors from the same household will be allowed for our patients in Labor & Delivery, Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Critical Care, as well as for Surgery and end of life patients. See additional restrictions for these and other units below.

The following unit policies are in addition to the general procedures listed above:

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

The following guidelines have been created to enhance family participation, while preserving safety measures designed to limit the spread of COVID-19:

  • All visitors and patients entering the NICU are required to wear a mask for the duration of their visit.
  • Mothers who are currently in-patient are permitted to visit the NICU without restrictions.
  • Due to physical space limitations in the NICU, up to 2 visitors from the same household are permitted to visit at a time:
    • There are no time restrictions on the length of visit
    • Visitation is permitted 24/7
    • Parents or guardians may alternate time at the bedside

Pediatrics (PEDS) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

The following guidelines have been created to enhance family participation, while preserving safety measures designed to limit the spread of COVID-19:

Up to 2 visitors from the same household are permitted to visit:

  • There are no time restrictions on the length of the visit
  • Visitation is permitted 24/7
  • Overnight accommodations will be available for one parent or guardian

Patients that are COVID Positive and/or under investigation for COVID:

  • One parent or guardian will be permitted to remain the room with the patient
  • Parent or guardian will not be permitted to trade off
  • Parent or guardian will be required to wear full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); provided by hospital
  • Parent or guardian to remain in room; meals and toiletries provided by hospital

Maternity / Women's Services

General Guidelines

  • The father of the baby or the significant other, designated by the baby's mother, has 24 hour visiting privileges.
  • Overnight accommodations are available for one (1) support person to spend the night. Our family birthing suites offer the comforts of home, including a sleeper chair.
  • All visitors need to be free from contagious illness and colds.
  • When not in the patient's room, all visitors should return to the designated waiting areas of the hospital, not wait in unit hallways or block unit doorways.
  • All visitors must wash their hands before holding or touching a newborn.
  • In order to maintain a clean and hygienic environment, we ask that you eat and drink only in designated waiting areas, and place all trash and debris in the appropriate trash can.
  • For the safety of our patients, latex balloons are not allowed.

Additional Guidelines

Non-Stress Tests (NST)

  • All visitors will be asked to remain in the designated waiting area during the NST procedure; one support person may be allowed in the ultrasound room (dependent on patient condition).
Labor & Delivery (L&D)
  • Up to two visitors from the same household designated by the mother may witness the birth or visit during labor.
  • Up to two adult support persons during a cesarean delivery and the recovery period.

The Golden Hour (Women's)

  • During the "Golden Hour," the first hour of a new baby's life, visitors will be restricted in the birthing suites. This will be a time for establishing bonding time between parents and the newborn, regulating the newborn's body temperature, and assuring neonatal stability.

Daily Quiet (Women's)

  • In order to help our mothers and babies get the proper rest they need prior to being discharged, there is a Daily Quiet Time in all of Women's Services. Daily Quiet Time is between the hours of 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM each day.
  • A system for visitors to leave notes for a new mother is available should a visitor arrive during Daily Quiet Time hours.
Visits to Patients with Isolation Precautions
  • Visitors to a patient on isolation precautions must check with a nurse for specific instructions, prior to entering the patient's room.
  • Visitors should wear personal protective equipment described on the isolation precaution sign on the door to the patient's room and as outlined in policy.

Barlow Respiratory Hospital

Updated 3/31/21

Barlow Respiratory Hospital has reopened to visitors as of March 2021. To ensure the safety of patients, your loved ones, and to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19, there are limited visitor hours and visits must be scheduled in advance.

Please contact the Nursing Station at Barlow Respiratory Hospital for more information at 818.782.6600, press 3, extension 8360#.