Hints for Families & Visitors

• To give the patients quiet time to help with their recovery and bond with their babies, visitors should arrive during regular visiting hours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m)
• Children are not permitted in the patient’s room without another adult present.
• Children are not permitted to spend in the night in the patient’s room.
• Minimize noise and loud talking in the waiting areas and rooms.
• Limit visitors to two at a time.
• Do not take your food or coffee into patient rooms as it can make the patient feel queasy.
• The hospital cafeteria and vending areas are provided for your convenience. The cafeteria is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and on Saturday and Sunday, the cafeteria is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., closing briefly from 10:30 to 11:00 to prepare the lunch line every day.
• Promote rest by limiting light, noise, and touch. Please do not turn on the TV unless the patient requests you to do so.
• Willis-Knighton hospitals are smoke-free facilities. Please smoke only in the designated smoking areas. Infants should not be exposed to smoke, either in the hospital or at home.

Sibling Visitation Postpartum

Because a newborn’s immune system is not fully developed, we make every effort to assure that any siblings visiting are free from illness.

When older children visit, they are required to have their temperatures taken by the nurse and they must wash their hands before visiting the newborn.

A Sibling Health History Data Sheet, showing proof of immunization must be completed on the day of the visit and kept with the mother’s chart. Please be sure to bring a current immunization record for each child.

Siblings may visit their mother and the newborn any time unless they have had any of the following symptoms in the past two weeks:

• Fever
• Runny Nose, Cold or Any Respiratory Infection
• Cough
• Diarrhea or Vomiting
• Rash
• Draining Sores

Siblings who have been exposed to chicken pox, mumps, measles, rubella or other illnesses in the past three weeks may not visit.

If siblings have not had the chicken pox, the mother must show written proof that they have had the chicken pox vaccine at least six weeks before any hospital visitation.

Please Note: The visitation policy is different for the newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or the intermediate care nursery. Ask your nurse to explain these policies.