For Visitors

Visiting Hours

Last reviewed 6/29/20

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:
  • One visitor will be allowed for our patients in the labor, pediatric and neonatal units, as well as end of life patients.
  • All visitors and patients entering the hospital are required to wear a mask.
  • 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. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for certain compassionate care reasons.

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

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

  • Visitation is limited to parents only for patients in isolation rooms and during change of shift hours.
  • The NICU staff may ask visitors to temporarily leave the bedside during patient procedures or emergencies.
  • Visitation is limited to parents only during change of shift between 6:30 AM - 7:30 AM and 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

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

  • A parent, legal guardian, or one (1) family-designated adult caregiver/support person may visit 24 hours a day.
  • Please note the number of visitors may be limited by nursing staff depending on the illness of the patient.
  • Visitation is limited to a parent, legal guardian, or one family-designated adult caregiver/support person only during change of shift between 6:30 AM - 7:30 AM and 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.
  • The staff may ask visitors to temporarily leave the bedside during patient procedures or emergencies.

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.
  • In order to ensure patient privacy and a smooth transition from one shift to the other, visitors will be asked to wait in the designated waiting rooms during shift report times between 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM and 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM.
  • 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)
  • Only a visitor designated by the mother may witness the birth or visit during labor.
  • A maximum of one (1) adult support person 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

Effective 3/16/20

Visitors will no longer be allowed to enter any Barlow Respiratory Hospital location to ensure the safety of patients, your loved ones, and to reduce risk of exposure. Exceptions will be made for end-of-life compassionate care and pre-discharge training. Barlow's staff understands this is difficult but the vulnerability of patients in their care makes this precaution essential for the well-being of all patients. You are encouraged to call or video chat as a means of communicating with your loved ones who are patients at Barlow.