Comments | evilbeth: Help me out, please!

evilbeth

Help me out, please!

Feb 27, 2006 13:50

Hey, I need your help.

Any of you guys who do work or have worked in hospitals with ICUs:

What is/was the policy on visitation by children?

Did they allow children only above a certain age? Did they ever make exceptions?

Anyone visited an ICU with small children? Where and what ages were the children?

Comments 14

kibbles February 27 2006, 18:58:52 UTC

I only know about NICU, does that help?

evilbeth February 27 2006, 18:59:48 UTC

I was actually thinking of adult ICUs but NICU info is appreciated as well.

kibbles February 27 2006, 19:14:34 UTC

SIUH let siblings visit, same hours as parents (meaning round the clock) and at any age AS LONG AS THEY HAD THEIR SHOTS UPDATED. A letter had to be faxed from their pediatrician or you had to bring their shot record. And they had to do the usual washing up that adults did.

No other children were allowed, though.

http://www.siuh.edu/ More policy stuff there.

kibbles February 27 2006, 19:19:06 UTC

http://www.siuh.edu/visiting/index.html thats inside the frame. Also isnt Visitalk neat? :D

Thread 5

montrealais February 27 2006, 19:38:04 UTC

I'm not sure whether this was considered intensive care or not, but when my dad was dying of cancer at the Neuro, our neighbours' little children were allowed to visit him. (Actually, the visits were a cast of thousands, and he was eventually moved to a bigger room to accommodate them, if you can believe it.)

evilbeth February 28 2006, 12:38:38 UTC

Little as in preschool? Elementary school?

montrealais February 28 2006, 21:52:41 UTC

Early elementary school, I'd say. Under 10.

crankyasanoldma February 27 2006, 22:03:47 UTC

I don't work at the hospital, but as I recall any kids who visit have to be checked out and verified that they aren't sick. I'm not sure if that allows them to get into the ICU. They can come to the NICU, I believe (siblings).

crankyasanoldma February 28 2006, 12:37:23 UTC

Thanks!

evilbeth February 28 2006, 12:37:49 UTC

Of course, that was ME!

withbutterflies February 28 2006, 04:04:01 UTC

When I did my stint in ICU, there were no kids allowed to visit who were under 12. Period.

That may have changed.

evilbeth February 28 2006, 12:37:06 UTC

Do you mind if I ask when that might have been?

withbutterflies March 1 2006, 22:42:28 UTC

That was six years ago.

They made exceptions occasionally if the person the child would be visiting was a parent. They'd have to put on masks and mind their Ps and Qs and they could only stay up to 30 minutes.