Visitation

Parents are an essential part of a baby’s care. We welcome you to be with your baby as much as possible with a maximum of 2 people at a bedside at a time. Visitation for other visitors and siblings may be restricted or modified due to infectious outbreaks in the community. Please inquire with your nurse for specifics. Phone calls are a wonderful way to stay connected with your baby’s care team. The nursing staff will share information and answer questions about your baby. You will be given a designated privacy password that you will need to share to receive health updates about your baby.

There may be situations during your stay where we may ask you to step away from your baby’s bedside. Some of these situations include emergencies, new baby admissions, special and/or sterile procedures, and bedside rounds on patients other than your baby.

To help protect your baby and ensure correct hand over of information to the next shift of nurses, visitation and calling will be closed between the times 6:45 am – 8:00 am and 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm.

The NICU is a locked unit. You may enter and leave only if a staff member unlocks the door. Please be patient as staff may be with other patients and will unlock the door as soon as possible.

Protection from Infection

To help us protect your baby from infection and upon arrival to the NICU, please complete your 2 minute hand wash at the scrub sink and place your cell phone in the UV cleaner. All visitors must wash their hands and forearms up to the elbow using the provided scrub brush, leaving sleeves rolled up. We ask that you leave your sleeves rolled up until you are done visiting with your baby.

You should also use the antibacterial hand gel or foam after touching other surfaces or touching your cell phone prior to touching your baby.

When leaving the unit, please wash your hands or use the gel by the bedside. For more information or concerns about hand hygiene, please ask your nurse. Help us to protect you and your baby by promoting good hand hygiene.

Anyone with a cough, cold, GI symptoms, fever or signs of any illness should avoid visiting the NICU. You must be symptom free for 48 hours before visiting the unit. If you have been diagnosed with COVID/Flu/Strep throat, pink eye, etc., please reach out to your nurse for visiting details.

Cell Phones and other Handheld Electronic Devices

All cell phones or handheld electronic devices must be cleaned upon entering the NICU using the UV cleaning device. The UV cleaning device will only take a few minutes to complete.

You can use your cell phone in the NICU to take pictures of your baby. If you need to make a voice call or a FaceTime call, it will need to be done in the waiting area and away from the patient care area. Taking pictures, video or voice recording of staff or other patients is prohibited.

Lastly, for your baby’s safety please do not use your phone when holding and/or touching your baby. Babies in the NICU will need both hands to hold and support them safely.