Visiting Guidelines

Sierra View Medical Center is a family-centered hospital and supports open visiting to all patient care areas. However, for the safety of our patients and their well-being, the following restrictions apply:

Persons with Respiratory Disease or any signs of communicable infections are not permitted to visit hospital patients.
Children 13 years of age and younger must be accompanied by a responsible adult and not left unattended for any reason.
Children who are under 10 years of age visiting other children must have permission from the Primary Care Nurse caring for the patient on the unit. The responsible adult will be requested to remove any child exhibiting disruptive behavior.
Preferably there should be not more than two (2) visitors per patient at any on time. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Primary Care Nurse caring for the patient, including clergy visiting patients under distress.

If you are visiting a patient, please check-in at the Information Desk before continuing to the patient care areas. Guests will not be permitted in these areas without identification received at the Information Desk

To ensure a safe and comfortable environment for Sierra View Medical Center patients and guests, please be courteous of others and adhere to the following Behavior Guidelines:

Visitors will not interfere with the activities of any employee(s).
Visitors must behave in a quiet and calm manner.
Visitors will remain at the designated patient's bedside or in authorized waiting areas only.
Visitors who do not comply with hospital policy will be asked to leave.

Special Circumstances:

Patients may designate visitors of their choosing-if they have decision-making capacity-whether or not the visitor is a family member, a spouse, or a domestic partner, including a same-sex domestic partner, unless:
- No visitors are allowed.
- The facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the health facility staff, or would significantly disrupt the operations of the facility.
- Patients have told the health facility staff that they no longer want a particular person to visit. However, a health facility may establish reasonable restrictions upon visitation, including restrictions upon the hours of visitation and number of visitors.
Patients in Isolation
- Facilities and materials for protecting visitors from infected patients will be provided.
- Visitors must receive appropriate instruction from the nursing staff prior to entering the patient's room.
- Children 13 years of age and younger will not be allowed to visit patients in isolation.

Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus

As a local hospital committed to the health and wellness of our community, Sierra View Medical Center is also committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment for our patients, guests, volunteers and employees. We provide this for our community by ensuring our campus is tobacco and smoke-free.

As determined by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke and lung cancer among other health issues. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined cigarette smoking to be the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

To help prevent the dangers of smoking and the risks that come with second-hand smoking, Sierra View Medical Center prohibts the act of smoking anywhere on hospital property. This also restricts patients, guests, volunteers and employees from leaving the hospital to smoke on Sierra View grounds. It is the hope of Sierra View Medical Staff that these efforts will help ensure the safety of patients, guests and employees by providing a smoke-free and tobacco-free environment.

Visiting Hours & Restrictions

Adult Patients

Visiting hours are arranged with the Primary Care Nurse caring for a patient based on the needs of the patient. Recommended visiting hours and restrictions for each area are as follows:

Medical/Surgical: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Telemetry: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Intensive Care Unit/Critical Care Unit- Any time with the following exceptions:

No visiting during report times: 6:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Visitors under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
No visitors under the age of 13 at any time.
Exceptions: will be granted on an individual basis.

Flex Care: 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.. After 4:00 p.m. at the discretion of the Primary Care
Nurse.

Labor & Delivery: Open visiting hours for the father or other support person as chosen by the mother. Visitors under 13 years of age must be a brother or sister of the newborn and accompanied by an adult at all times. During the actual delivery of the infant, only 2 people, as chosen by the mother, are allowed to attend.

Post Partum: Father or support person and siblings of the newborn may visit at any time. All others will be allowed between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., but limited to a maximum of 3 visitors at one time.

NICU: Parents are allowed in the NICU at all hours except during shift change between 6:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The number of visitors at the bedside will be determined at the discretion of the bedside nurse; however a parent or legal guardian of the patient must be with the visitors. Children may visit with adult supervision at any time (except during RSV season) but the length of stay may be limited due to the age of the child.

A visitor may be asked to leave the room after all alternatives have been considered if
a patient is:

Undergoing an emergency or complicated procedure
Other infants undergoing emergency or complicated procedure
Going to be discussing confidential information with the clinician.

Emergency Department: All patients may have 2 visitors each at the bedside while in the Emergency Department. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Primary Care Nurse.

Post Anesthesia Care Unit: Visitors will be allowed only with the approval of the Primary Care Nurse caring for the patient in the unit.

Surgery: No visitors will be allowed.

DP/SNF: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. After 9:00 p.m., visitors will be allowed at the discretion of the Charge Nurse. Visitors will be limited to three (3) at a time for each patient.

Acute Dialysis: No visitors are allowed in the acute dialysis treatment room due to space limitations.

Pediatric Patients

All Areas:

At least one parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult will be allowed to remain with a child during the entire hospital stay.
At the discretion of the Primary Care Nurse, this person(s) may stay with the patient during minor procedures as long as the physical facility is large enough to accommodate the person(s), and they are able to provide emotional support to the patient.
For in-patients, at least one parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult will be encouraged to stay overnight.

Food & Drinks

Please check with a patient's nurse before bringing in food or drinks. Patients often need special diets as part of their care. Once food is taken into a patient's room, it cannot be placed in a hospital refrigerator.

Eating is not allowed in the patient care areas. The only exception is with the support person in the Family Birthing Center.

The hospital's café serves meals daily and vending machines are also available. Eating is allowed only in the café or patio areas.