Visits from family members, friends and clergy are an important part of healing. Our visitor guidelines were made to provide for safe and healthy healing for our patients.

We think that “family” is anyone who is important to the patient—spouses, partners, significant others, children—anyone whom our patients tell us are family to them.

Our patients also tell us that sometimes they feel overwhelmed and just want rest. Please keep this in mind if you are a visitor.

Some areas of the hospital might have additional rules about visiting a patient, in order to protect the health of both your loved one and yourself. Please ask the nurse caring for your friend or loved one if there are any special rules you need to follow.

Please respect the nurses' instructions as they work to do what is best for both you and your loved one.

There are a few other things we want you to consider as you visit your loved ones:

• In rooms where there is more than one patient, please have only two visitors at a time for each patient.
• Please help us to keep the hospital quiet by speaking softly and avoiding unnecessary noise.
• Family and visitors may be asked to leave the room during tests or treatments, or when the doctor or nurse needs to examine the patient.
• Ask your loved one how long they may want you to stay; don’t stay too long and tire them out too much. On the other hand, don’t assume that your loved one would prefer to not have visitors. Talk to them to see what they want and need.
• Wash your hands when you get here and before you leave—we don’t want you to take any germs with you.
• Please don’t come to visit if you feel sick. You may spread your germs to your loved one or others.
• Visitors are not limited or denied visitation rights on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or disability.
• As mentioned above "family" means any person who plays a significant role in an individual's life such as spouses, domestic partners/civil unions, significant others (of both different and the same sex), and other individuals not legally related to the patient, but deemed as family by the patient. "Family" also includes a minor patient's parents, regardless of the gender of either parent.

Is it OK to bring children to visit in the hospital?

• Children can be a welcome distraction for an ill loved one, but they can tire a patient out very easily. All children must be supervised by an adult and cannot be left alone with the patient. Please keep an eye on small children.
• Make sure your children know what to expect. They may feel scared while here visiting your loved one and see and hear things they do not understand. A hospital can be a scary place when you do not know what is going on, no matter what your age.
• Don’t let your child crawl on the floors or carpets. We work hard to keep things neat and clean, but germs can hang around, and children can easily get sick.