NICU Visitor Guidelines

Everyone entering the NICU must wash his or her hands thoroughly. For your convenience a scrub sink is located just inside the doors of the NICU.

Parents are welcomed and encouraged at their baby’s bedside during visiting hours, however there are times that the staff may ask you to step out in order to protect the privacy of the other patients and families in the unit.

Parents may bring in family and friends to visit their newborn. However, all visitors must either be a sibling of the infant (with current immunization record available) or 18 years of age to enter the NICU. There is a limit of two visitors at the bedside per patient. Grandparents are welcome to visit during visiting hours; however they must be on the visitor list and may not bring other visitors into the NICU. Single parents may designate one other adult to visit. For your baby’s protection you may be asked for identification such as a driver’s license or the identification bracelet given to you in the delivery room. A parent, or the designated visitor who is wearing the second ID band, must be present for anyone else to visit.

The staff will advise persons who have any signs of illness not to visit. For your baby’s safety, anyone who has been exposed to a contagious illness, such as chicken pox, tuberculosis, or cold/flu symptoms should not enter the NICU. Any visitor who has received a live vaccine, such as the nasal flu mist, will not be able to visit for three weeks. There may be times throughout the year (i.e. flu season) when visiting may be restricted to parents and grandparents only.

Siblings, 2 years and older, may visit their new brother or sister in the NICU when accompanied by a parent but will not be allowed to hold babies. Parents are responsible for their children, including keeping the sibling at the baby’s bedside and monitoring his or her behavior. These visits are usually short, so it may be helpful to have someone available to care for the sibling outside the NICU.

All siblings under 18 years old must be cleared to visit by a nurse every day they come to visit. Children may be exposed to a variety of illnesses that are potentially harmful to infants. Siblings under 2 years old are not permitted in the NICU, unless they are the patient’s twin brother or sister. All siblings must be up-to-date on their immunizations and must provide proof. All other non-family visitors must be 18 years old or older and must be accompanied by the patient’s parent.

Welcoming the newest addition to your family can be such an exciting moment. We want you to visit with your infant and participate in their care as much as possible. However, due to different situations, this may not always be possible. Newborn infants, especially those that are born premature or with other medical conditions can be more likely to develop an infection. Therefore, we must have visitation guidelines in place for the safety of the infant and to maintain as infection-free an environment as possible. We ask that all visitors read and abide by our visitation policy and ask the nursing staff for clarification if questions arise in order to avoid confusion. We also must ensure privacy and confidentiality for all of our babies and cannot allow visitors to browse the NICU or visit any other baby. No information can be given regarding any other patient in our NICU.

Security
Security is a top priority at Baptist Health System and there are a number of measures in place to ensure the security of the NICU environment and the safety of your baby. The NICU is a secure unit. All individuals are monitored in the unit both entering and leaving. We take security very seriously and there are many safeguards in place to maintain the security in and around the unit. Access to the NICU can only be obtained using the front door, where all visitors must pass through the nurse’s station prior to entering and exiting the patient care area. This allows the staff the ability to monitor the safety and security of the infants under our care. Also, the mother of the baby and a designated visitor of her choice will be given armbands with the baby’s name and account number. Family and friends can visit the NICU but a parent or the designated visitor must be present. Each baby is given two armbands that contain their name and account number as well as their mother’s name.

All staff caring for your infant are required to wear a photo ID name badge and infants are not allowed to be transported by anyone without this badge in place.