Seeking medical treatment can be an overwhelming experience. At NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, we provide culturally-sensitive care to patients from all five New York City boroughs in a welcoming and hospitable setting, emphasizing primary care medicine and utilizing the latest advances in medical science. Close patient supervision by a specially trained multidisciplinary team of health professionals helps ensure that patients receive the best, most effective care possible.
Visitation is currently permitted on the following units:
- Most Hospital Settings: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Behavioral Health: Monday – Saturday 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Behavioral Health Child and Adolescent Patients: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Adult Intensive Care Unit:
- Up to two persons from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Only one support person from 8:00 pm – 8:00 am
Hospital Visitation Guidelines:
Patients shall have the right to receive their designated visitor(s) including but not limited to spouse, domestic partner (including same sex), other family members and friends. All visitors designated by patient or support person when appropriate shall enjoy visitation privileges same as the patient’s immediate family would enjoy. Visitors are welcomed between the hours of 11:00 am -8:00 pm in most hospital settings. Patient’s visitation rights set forth in this policy shall be applicable to incapacitated patients.
Additional Information
Visitation Rights:
- The patient/support person has the right to withdraw visitation consent and will complete a Request for Additional Privacy Protection Form.
- The hospital may impose limitations on patient’s visitation rights in order to provide safe care to patients.
- These limitations may include but are not limited to:
- Infection control issues
- Visitation that may interfere with the care of other patients
- A court order limiting or restricting contact
- Behavior presenting a direct risk or threat to the patient/hospital staff/others
- Patient’s need for privacy or rest
- Need for privacy or rest by another individual in the patient’s shared room
- Substance abuse protocols requiring limited visitation
- Clinical intervention/procedure where the care provider believes it is in the patient’s best interest to limit visitation during the clinical intervention or procedure
- Reasonable limitations on the number of visitors at any one time
Visitation restrictions may be imposed on a particular patient, after the need has been identified, assessed, and documented.
Visitation Guidelines:
- Inpatient unit visitors must have a valid hospital-issued pass, show it to hospital police, and display it on the unit; children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult and cannot visit if ill.
- Behavioral health visitation is allowed unless clinically restricted by the physician; children under 18 require pre-approval and an accompanying adult; visiting hours are 6pm-8pm daily; adolescent visitors must be approved by the patient’s legal guardian.
- The emergency department maintains flexible visiting hours based on clinical situations, and visitors may be asked to wait during exams/treatments to assure patient care and confidentiality.
- For minors with parental visitor restrictions, staff must inform the physician, nursing administrator, hospital police, explain to the patient/support person, and document in the EHR.
- For minors with ACS visitor restrictions, ACS must provide legal documents restricting the biological parent’s visitation, then staff follows the same notification and documentation steps.
- For labor & delivery, up to two 24/7 support people designated by the patient, including a doula, can remain throughout labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery until discharge.
- Healthy siblings/children under 18, free of communicable illness and accompanied by an adult, can visit postpartum/antepartum patients and labor & delivery.
- Pediatric patients can have two designated support people at all times during procedures who may rotate; staff will review restrictions.
- For behavioral health children/adolescents on the pediatric unit: visitors must obtain visitor sticker from the Front Desk and displayed when arriving to the unit. Visitors must store all belongings in a bag at the nurses’ station to be returned after the visit, and visits must be supervised by BHA or PCA in the dayroom area.
- Patients with intellectual/developmental disabilities or dementia may designate at least one permanent support person during hospitalization and have additional visitors during designated hours.
- Up to two support people may remain with imminently end-of-life patients.
- Hospital police assist with removing disruptive visitors as needed.
- Forensic patients require visitor permission from the arresting precinct.
- Visitors can accompany outpatients who want a support person present during physician exams.
- Visitors can accompany patients in pre-op and post-op ambulatory settings.