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Visitor Guidelines

Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center and Henry County Health Center visitor guidelines are created to ensure a safe and healing environment for our patients.

ADULT INtensive Care Unit

  • No visitation from 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. for nursing hand off report.
  • Patients are allowed two visitors at a time.
  • Visitors under the age of 12 are discouraged for infection-control reasons.
  • Visitors must stay in the patient's room to protect patient privacy, those not in patient rooms will be escorted to the family waiting room.
  • To ensure compliance with patient confidentiality, the patient will be asked to identify up to two family members or significant others permitted to receive patient information and updates. Identified representatives will be issued passwords to use when seeking information. All other calls or queries will be referred to the patient or designated representatives.
  • Visiting hours may be adjusted at the nurse's judgment when it is in the best interest of the patient.

PEDIATRIC INPATIENTS

  • Parents/guardians/foster parents have unrestricted visiting. Grandparents have unrestricted visiting with parent permission.
  • Healthy siblings may visit (unless the patient is in isolation) if a parent or grandparent is present during normal visiting hours. Please check with the nursing staff for visiting hours. "Healthy" means the sibling has not had a fever or chills, a cough or sore throat, a runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting for at least 48 hours.
  • Other children 14 years and over may be allowed to visit with the permission of the parents and nursing staff.
  • Only parents or grandparents may visit if a patient is in isolation for any reason. Siblings will not be allowed to visit.
  • Parents and grandparents will be asked to follow isolation procedures for their health and safety.
  • Minor visitors or siblings may not stay overnight.
  • Other family members of legal age may not stay overnight with minor patient without parent permission and notification of nursing staff.
  • "Friends" may not spend the night with minor patients.
  • Individual cases and/or situations can be discussed with a Supervisor or Director.

Obstetrics

Labor & Delivery

  • Visitors are restricted to two (2) persons in each Labor, Delivery, Recovery, Postpartum (LDRP) during labor (coach, significant other [SO])
  • All visits will be at the discretion of the laboring mother.
  • All visitors are asked to wait in the family waiting area.
  • For privacy protection, only one visitor may stay with patients in the Early Labor Lounge (ELL).
  • Individual cases/situations may be discussed with the Supervisor or Director.

POSTPARTUM (After delivery)

  • Visiting hours are unrestricted for fathers/significant others and will be allowed to stay overnight with the mother.
  • Grandparents and healthy siblings of the baby may visit during normal visiting hours. Please check with the nursing staff for visiting hours. "Healthy" means the sibling has not had a fever or chills, a cough or sore throat, a runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting for at least 48 hours.
  • Siblings may only visit if the father/significant other or grandparents are present.
  • Siblings may not stay overnight with the mother.

Newborn Nursery

  • No visitors are permitted in the nursery.
  • Mothers, fathers/significant others with appropriate identification may enter the nursery wash area to obtain their infant.
  • Parents of boarder babies may enter the wash area to request their infant, wash their hands, and apply gowns.

NICU/Intermediate nursery

  • Parents with identification bands may visit their infant at any time.
  • Grandparents may visit the infant for short periods of time (10-15 minutes) only when accompanied by a parent; limited to two (2) at a time.
  • Siblings over age 3 of the infant may visit for short periods of time (10-15) minutes when accompanied by a parent. They must be well-mannered and quiet so as not to disturb the ill baby.
  • Parents/grandparents/siblings may be asked to leave the nursery:
    • During physician rounds in the AM and PM.
    • During the admission of an infant
    • When procedures are being performed on an infant
  • Condition information or updates by telephone can only be given to parents with the appropriate identification password.

* Based on guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Public Health, visiting guidelines will change during "flu season". This is to help protect patients from seasonal and H1N1, influenza and other illnesses.

Emergency Department

  • Active Emergency Department patients may have two visitors at a time.
  • Visitors must remain in the patient's room the entire visit.

Behavioral Health Unit

  • Visiting hours: Monday - Friday, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Patients are allowed two visitors at one time.

While these are the guidelines, staff reserves the right to limit visitors including, but not limited to the following:

  • Any court order limiting or restricting contact
  • Behavior presenting a direct risk or threat to the patient, hospital staff, or others in the immediate environment
  • Behavior disruptive of the functioning of the patient care unit
  • Visitors engaging in disruptive, threatening, or violent behavior of any kind.
  • Reasonable limitations on the number of visitors at one time
  • Patient's risk of infection by the visitor
  • Visitor's risk of infection by the patient
  • Extraordinary protections because of a pandemic or infectious disease outbreak
  • Substance abuse treatment protocols requiring restricted visitation
  • Patient's need for privacy or rest
  • Need for privacy or rest by another patient in a shared room.
  • Determination by a health care professional using his or her best clinical judgment that visitation is not appropriate
  • Minimum age requirements for child visitors
  • The patient is undergoing care interventions.