NICU Visiting Policy for Parents

Visiting Hours

We understand how stressful it is to have a baby in intensive care. Our visiting policy encourages frequent visits by the parents to promote bonding and ease stress. Parents can visit their baby in the NICU at almost any time of the day or night, except during doctor rounds and nurse report times (to maintain confidentiality of our patients):

There may be other times that visitors are asked to leave for a short time, such as during mulitidisciplinary rounds and during certain procedures or emergencies.

Please let your baby's nurse know when you will be coming to feed and/or care for your baby. Be prepared to give your infant's medical record number or band ID number when you telehone for information. To protect privacy, patient information will only be given to you.

Please wash your hands with soap and water upon entering the NICU. The nurse taking care of your baby will educate you about cleaning your hands with germicidal gel prior to touching your baby.

Visiting is limited to two people at a time per family. One of the visitors must be banded.
If you wish family members to see your baby, you may bring them in one at a time. Please ask them to keep close to your baby's bedside and not visit other infants in the NICU. To reduce the risk of infection and prevent excess stimulation, please limit your visitors to your close support family & friends, show your visitors how to wash and gel their hands, and limit visitor touching and holding of baby to a minimum. Visitors should be healthy and free of any signs of infection or colds.

Siblings

Brothers and sisters of the patient are the only children under age fourteen years that are allowed in the NICU. An adult must be in charge of the child at all times. Immunizations must be up to date. Children must not have a fever, cold, cough or have been exposed to chicken pox or measles. Please limit visits of very young children. Please do not allow your children to touch the medical equipment due to safety and infectious concerns. Siblings at the bedside do not count in the limit of two visitors per family, as an adult will be in charge of the child.

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

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