Visitor Guidelines
March 13, 2023
Definitions
Visitor – relative, partner, friend, or colleague that is a guest of an inpatient.
Caregiver – relative, partner, or friend of the patient (or parent/guardian) who chooses to provide assistance with transportation, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and/or cognitive needs of the patient in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
Current Guidance
- All inpatients are allowed two visitors, ≥ 18 years of age.
- A single visitor ≤ 18 years of age will be permitted if necessary to support extenuating family circumstances.
- Visitors must adhere to hospital masking requirements. Hospital staff will supply an appropriate mask as needed.
- Visitors and caregivers should be free of all upper respiratory virus symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms and should be fever free within the prior 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing substances.
All visitors and caregivers are expected to adhere to all WRNMMC policies, public health, and infection control procedures, to include:
- Visitors and caregivers should be free of all upper respiratory virus symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms and should be fever free within the prior 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing substances.
- Adhere to hospital policy concerning wearing of medical masks in patient care and hospital areas.
- Perform hand hygiene immediately upon entering and leaving the patient room.
- Visitors with a current or recent COVID-19 infection, should not visit the patient until they are past the CDC recommended isolation period (currently 5 days unless immunocompromised), have improving, or resolved symptoms, and adhere to mask wear recommendations of the institution. Visitors in this category will not be permitted in high-risk patient environments (e.g., hematology-oncology patient care areas, dialysis, NICU, PICU, MICU, SICU, or MICC).
Specific Care Environments:
Visitors to patients who are on isolation status for COVID-19
- Two adult visitors ≥ 18 years of age are authorized to visit a patient who is identified as COVID positive. Unit staff will assist visitors to don and doff proper PPE.
- By visiting, visitors acknowledge their potential risk of exposure to and acquisition of COVID-19 infection while in the hospital.
- Visitors will wear a N95 respirator. A fit check will be performed to assess mask seal fit. If it is felt a N95 respirator will not suffice for a visitor, it is permissible to allow them to don a PAPR or CAPR. Staff are to assist the visitor with how to wear the PAPR or CAPR correctly, receive it back from the visitor, clean it with disinfectant wipes, and dispose of the hood.
- Visitors of COVID-19 patients are prohibited from movement to other areas of the hospital except as necessary for transit to and from the patient room.
- No visitors < 18 years of age are allowed for patients on isolation for COVID-19, however exceptions to policy (ETP) can be made on a case-by-case basis with the director level (DNS, DMS, etc.) approval.
Adult Inpatients and Emergency Department Visitation
- Two visitors, ≥ 18 years of age are authorized to visit an adult inpatient during their hospitalization or support the care of the patient in the ED.
- Visitors <18 years of age are discouraged, but one visitor in this age group is permitted to support extenuating family circumstances. The same rules outlined in item 3a apply to child visitors regarding health and wellness as well as adherence to the hospital’s masking policies.
Pediatric Inpatients
- Two visitors/caregivers, ≥ 18 years of age are authorized to be in a room visiting a pediatric inpatient during their hospitalization.
- Visitors <18 years of age are discouraged, but one visitor in this age group is permitted to support extenuating family circumstances. The same rules outlined in item 3a apply to child visitors regarding health and wellness as well as adherence to the hospital’s masking policies.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Patients
- NICU patient families are permitted to name up to two primary caregivers at a time for the duration of the hospital stay.
- The caregivers should be parents or legal guardians and must be in good health.
- Exceptions on a case-by-case basis may include critically ill infant or end of life care (at the discretion of the attending Neonatology and nursing staff).
- Local departmental visitation policies and procedures must be always adhered to.
Obstetric Inpatients
- All obstetric patients (regardless of COVID-19 status) are permitted two designated visitors or support persons for labor and delivery. The designated support persons must be asymptomatic for COVID-19. The spouse or significant other will be allowed visitation of an infant in Newborn Intensive Care Unit.
Outpatient Services
- Limits on visitors and caregivers for outpatient appointments will be at the discretion of the clinic supervisor to match the needs of the patient and care environment.
Infection Prevention & Control and Infectious Diseases are available to assist in establishing specific visitation policy needs for care environments of workflows not otherwise addressed in this update. Exceptions to the above may be made on a case-by-case basis by Directorate-level ETP.