Visitation Guidelines

Our staff are passionately committed to the care of very sick or hurt children. We know this is a difficult time for you and your family. We are here to assist you in any way that we can.

These guidelines are in place to provide a safe environment for children to get better.

When & Who Can Visit

• If your child is very sick or hurt and on life support when admitted, only the immediate family will be able to visit for at least the first 24-72 hours. Immediate family includes: the parents, siblings and grandparents.
• Please go directly to your child's room, for patient confidentiality we ask that you stay in your child's room or go to the waiting room.
• Visitors are limited to 3 per room (this includes parents). Other visitors are asked to wait in the waiting room and swap out.
• Visitors may not be allowed during special test or during an emergency.
• No one under 18 years old may spend the night unless they are the parent.
• During flu season typically from November through March children will not be allowed to visit. This is directed by the CDC and for the safety of all children, staff and visitors.
• Please stay in your child's room. You cannot visit other patient rooms. No visitors are allowed to hang out in or around the nurses' stations or hallways. Privacy is important, please do not ask about other patients. Also, please be respectful of other family's privacy and circumstances and do not post things on social media about things you have seen in the unit.

Important Safety Measures

• Only hospital staff who have a yellow or pink stripe on their ID badge are allowed to take your child from the room. The parents or caregivers will be identified at admission and a purple armband applied to their wrist. Please keep the armband on until your child is discharged.
• We want to make sure that your child is kept safe. The side rails must be up unless the child is out of bed. Children cannot sleep in the sleeper chairs. These are important safety measures we must follow.
• We also ask that you help keep the room free from clutter.
• Help us remember to wash our hands or use the hand sanitizer before giving care to your child. We also ask that all family and visitors do the same every time they enter and exit the room.
• Please let us know if something is "beeping" or "leaking" in your child's room.
• A caregiver may sleep in their child's room at night. One recliner bed is provided but should be upright during the day.
• You may eat in rooms only if the patient is allowed to eat. Do not store food in your child's room
• No fresh fruit, flowers or latex balloons are allowed.
• If you have to leave the hospital, please make sure your child's nurse has a telephone number to reach you and knows when you will return.
• The waiting room has a restroom/shower and vending machines. For your safety, we ask that you not to sleep in the waiting room. If you need help with a place to stay, please talk with the charge nurse or social worker.
• Televisions are in each room. Please make sure the shows you watch are right for the age of the person viewing and make sure to keep the volume at low levels.
• This is a NON-SMOKING facility. Ask the staff about smoking cessation information. Please do not smoke on the steps of the hospital.

How can I take care of myself?

The people who are taking care of your child all need to take breaks from the tiring and emotionally challenging work of caring for children. It is important for you to take care of yourself, you

need to take breaks too. Here are some other suggestions for caring for yourself:

• Eat healthy and get enough sleep
• Exercise or stretch your limbs periodically, take a walk
• Accept the help and support of family and friends
• Keep a positive attitude
• Use faith and spiritual support and activities. Ask a staff member to help you contact Pastoral Services or a counselor.
• Keep a journal of thoughts, feelings or your child's progress.
• Have something to read or do while at the bedside to keep you from staring at the monitors.
• Appoint a family member or close friend to take messages or to be a spokesperson for you. Ask the staff to place a no visitor sign.

Resources you might need

• ATM - lobby of the CH
• Chapel - located on the 1^st floor of the main hospital
• Graves Pharmacy - located @ 770 Pine St. office building, on Pine St., just past the ER. Phone 478-745-0476
• Gift Garden - located on the 1^st floor of the main hospital, ph 478-742-4400
• Ronald McDonald House - ask a staff member for a referral, located at 1160 Forsyth St., one block up from the CH. Ph 478-746-4090
• Smoking cessation - ask your child's nurse or MD for information to aid you in quitting smoking.
• Medical Interpreting Service is provided 24/7. Please let our staff know if you are in need of Interpreting Services, these are provided at no additional cost.
• Parking - CH parking lot @ the corner of Spring St & Forsyth St. The yellow and red parking decks are available and charge an hourly rate. We do not stamp parking deck tickets. Avoid parking on the street, this is patrolled by the city and tickets are issued for parking longer than 2 hours.
• Unit phone number: 478-633-1560
• Waiting Room number: 478-633-2419

Places to Eat

• Cafeteria - ground floor of main hospital
  • breakfast hours 7:00am-10:00am
  • lunch hours 11:00am - 2:00pm
  • dinner hours 4:30pm - 7:00pm
• Domino's Pizza: 600 New Street, 478-219-4400, hours: 10:30am - 1:00 am
• Dunkin Donuts- 860 Forsyth St, across the street from the main entrance of the CH. 478-621-4555 Hours 5:00am - 12MN
• H & H Restaurant: 807 Forsyth Street across from the Wound Care Center. Hours 7:00am-3:00pm
• McDonalds - located at 770 Pine St office building, on Pine St., just past the ER. Hours 6:00am to 3:00am.
• Roly Poly Sandwich Shop - located at 624 New St, down from the front entrance of the ER. ph 478-745-7659. Hours 11:00am - 3:00pm
• Subway -across the street from the main entrance of the CH. Hours 7:00am-4:00am
• Which Wich 860 Forsyth St, across the street from the main entrance of the CH. Hours 10:00am -12MN