Visitor Guidelines
- Visitors must be at least 12 years old
- Most hospital visiting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily; however, other clinical settings/locations may vary. Please see visitor policies related to other care settings below
Amid an increase in respiratory illness transmissions and guidance by the Illinois Department of Public Health, we are updating our masking policy to protect our most vulnerable patients:
- We require patients and visitors to mask when experiencing respiratory virus symptoms.
- We strongly recommend patients to mask when they are seeking care in high-risk areas*, and other individuals to mask when they are visiting patients in high-risk areas*.
- We kindly ask visitors who are sick to please reschedule visits.
*High risk areas include all areas within our inpatient medical centers (i.e. inpatient units, ICUs, procedural areas, labor & delivery), emergency departments and cancer centers. If you are unsure, please ask.
Intensive Care Unit
- 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Only two visitors at a time. Visitors must be at least 12 years old. Visitors will follow established ICU safety guidelines. Exceptions to these hours will be made based on the patients' condition.
Medical Surgical Units
- 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Only two visitors at a time.
Pediatrics
- Visiting hours for persons other than parents are 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Also see “Pediatrics” under “Women’s Hospital” below.
Adult Psychiatry
- 11:00 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. daily. One visitor daily for 30 minutes, visits must be scheduled with the unit.
Women’s Hospital
- Antepartum (Before Labor and Delivery) 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Support person (overnight privileges). 2 Visitors per day (not including support person) during visiting hours. Children under 12 may visit antepartum patients during sibling visitation from 4:00 - 6:00pm.
- Labor and Delivery 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Support person (24 hour overnight privileges). 1 designated visitor & 1 doula that meets criteria (does not count as a visitor). No Children under the age of 18.
- Mother and Baby: 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Support person 24 hours a day (overnight privileges, not counted as a visitor). 2 additional visitors at a time during visiting hours. Visitors must be >12 years of age. Sibling visitation time (for those under 12 years of age) is from 4:00 - 6:00pm and limited to siblings of the same household. Siblings must pass health screen and come with a designated adult supervisor who is not the patient.
- Pediatrics: 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Parents/guardians able to visit 24 hours a day. 2 additional visitors during visiting hours. 2 visitors at the bedside at a time during visiting hours. No children under the age of 18.
- Infant Special Care Unit (ISCU), a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: 24 hours a day. No visitors under 18 years of age. Parents only with one per bedside at a time. Able to visit 24 hours per day except at shift change.
Lounges and Waiting Rooms
There are lounges for patients and their visitors on most patient floors. The waiting room for families of ambulatory surgery patients is on the third floor of the Main Entrance Atrium. It can be accessed directly from the 5th level of the parking garage. The waiting room for families of intensive care patients is on the third floor, north end of the Searle Pavilion. Visitors may use the B, C or D banks of elevators.
Discharge Procedures
The patient's physician will let them know when they may go home after discussing their post-hospital care. The discharge hour is 11 a.m.
Infection Control
- Please observe good hand hygiene practices, including disinfecting your hands upon entering and leaving a patient’s room. (Alcohol-based hand gel dispensers are placed conveniently for this purpose.)
- Please refrain from visiting a patient if you have, or have been exposed to, COVID-19, a cold, flu or other illness.
- If you are visiting a patient who has been placed under special infection-control precautions or isolation, please read the isolation signs, check with the patient’s nurse, and make sure you understand and cooperate with the required precautions.
- For patients on isolation precautions for COVID-19, visitors should wear a standard mask, gown and gloves in the room and discard gown and gloves and do hand hygiene upon leaving the room.
- For patients on droplet precautions for other respiratory viruses, visitors should wear a standard mask in the room and discard this mask and do hand hygiene upon leaving the room.
- For patients on airborne isolation, visitors should discuss the appropriate mask recommendations with the patient’s nurse before entering an isolation room.
- If visiting a patient in special isolation, refrain from visiting public areas within the hospital (i.e. the cafeteria).
No smoking is allowed at NorthShore University HealthSystem facilities including outside grounds and parking structures.