Family & Friends
At UAB Medicine, we recognize the vital role friends and family play in helping their loved ones heal. Please ask the care team first if there are any restrictions or precautions for visiting.
Guidelines For Visiting
The well-being of our patients is the most important consideration when making decisions regarding visitors and visiting hours. Most units allow open visitation 24 hours a day, and we encourage someone to be with the patient at all times. However, the number of visitors may be limited at any time depending on the patient’ s wishes and the need to ensure safety and privacy. Should an emergency arise, you may be asked to leave the room if it interferes with your loved one’ s care or the care of others.
If you are visiting:
• Wash your hands with soap and water or use the hand sanitizer outside the room every time you enter.
• Do not visit if you have been sick, are sick now, or have been around others who have been sick in the past three weeks. Even a simple cold can cause a problem with a patient in the hospital. If you do choose to visit, speak with a nurse first, so that he or she can provide a mask or special clothing to protect the patient.
• Patient monitors and other equipment may make noises frequently. Your care team is trained to distinguish between reminder noises and emergency alarms. Please do not attempt to reset or silence any of the equipment.
• We use special equipment to move and adjust our patients; talk to a nurse before moving the patient or the bed.
• If a conflict arises between family members or friends that interferes with the patient’ s care, we have the right to ask those involved to leave.
• Please follow all posted guidelines for the waiting rooms on each floor.
on the phone, drawing pictures, or writing letters or poems for the patient.
If your child is visiting:
• Keep the visit brief, and speak with your nurse beforehand for tips on how to make the visit safe and successful.
• Wash their hands with soap and water or use the hand sanitizer outside the room every time they enter.
• Children should not visit if they have been sick, are sick now, or have been around others who have been sick.
• Younger children should not be left by themselves or allowed to crawl on the floor or play with any equipment.
• Babies under nine months old have weaker immune systems. It is especially important you do not feed or change the baby’ s diaper in the patient’ s room, set the baby on the floor or on the patient’ s bed, or allow staff to hold or touch your baby.
FOR FAMILIES & VISITORS
Remember, points of entry are limited from 8 p. m. to 5 a. m., and you may only enter through certain doors during those hours. Please wrap up all visits by 10:30 p. m. if you are not spending the night. If you are spending the night, feel free to take advantage of the complimentary coffee offered on NP7.
Children of any age may visit if they are supervised at all times by a parent or guardian who is not the patient. We encourage children to visit if they have a close relationship to the patient or the situation is very serious and visiting may be important to the child’ s future well-being. If a child does not want to visit, that’ s okay too. They may stay in touch by talking uabmedicine. org 13