Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) welcomes visitors to our locations as we recognize there are times when having visitors is crucial to patients’ health and healing. However, as protecting your and your loved ones’ health is our priority, we maintain strict safety standards to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in our patients and guests. We rely on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Arizona Department of Health Services, Coconino County Health and Human Services, and Yavapai County Community Health Services to keep our visitation policy up-to-date and safe for patients and visitors.
NAH encourages those wishing to visit patients diagnosed with infectious diseases to use phone and video communications as much as possible as an alternative to in-person visits. Our volunteer services and chaplaincy department can assist with virtual visitations as needed
A visitor is defined as an individual visiting or accompanying a patient receiving care or services at any NAH location. Clergy, including any individual designated by their faith community as a religious leader or individuals who provide spiritual services and support to a community’s members, can visit patients for religious purposes under the same conditions as any other visitor.
All visitors for inpatients must meet the following criteria:
- Visitors must be five years of age or older, except during respiratory illness season, if restrictions are instated. Dates for respiratory illness seasonal restrictions are determined based on respiratory infection rates each year (see end of life policy for exceptions). During respiratory illness season, visitors must be 12 years of age or older.
- Visitors five to 17 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
- Visitors should not visit if they are not feeling well.
- Visitors must not have contracted or been exposed to a communicable disease recently, e.g., COVID-19 (see end-of-life policy for exceptions).
All visitors must follow the below guidelines:
- Visitation hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Extended stays will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Unit staff will escort first-time visitors to units outside of normal visiting hours.
- Check in at the entry point and wear a visitor badge when on campus.
- Use hand sanitizer at the entrance and sanitize or wash hands as needed throughout the visit.
- Persons visiting patients on isolation precautions require personal protective equipment (PPE) for their safety. The required PPE is listed on isolation signage posted on the patient’s door. Visitors need to check in with the patient’s nurse before entering.
- Visitors who do not follow these guidelines will not be permitted entry or will be asked to leave.
Visitation limits per room type:
- Single-patient rooms: Four visitors at a time. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis with the approval of the charge nurse and/or clinical manager (unless end-of-life exceptions apply).
- Shared patient rooms: Two visitors at a time per patient.
- ICU room: Up to four visitors at a time. The charge nurse will determine if visitation numbers need to be decreased based on the patient’s acuteness and for the patient’s safety.
- Behavioral Health Department: Two visitors at a time.
- Pediatric Unit: Four people at a time with any combination of parents or guardians. Siblings 12 years of age or older may stay with the patient without an adult on a case-by-case basis. Additional visitors will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- Special Care Nursery: Three visitors total, per patient, two of which must be banded with a green wristband at the initial check-in.
- Labor and Delivery/Women and Infant’s Department: Four visitors at a time per patient. An overnight stay for a labor support person is allowed. Family and/or support persons for patients receiving obstetric care who have been provided a green wristband at the initial check-in can bypass other check-in requests.
- Patients on isolation precautions: Two visitors at a time.
- Trauma and other critically ill patients: The care team can make special circumstance decisions.
- Special circumstance decisions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by each unit’s charge nurse. The final determination is made by the clinical manager for each visitation.
- Please note: There will be times when visitors may be asked to leave or return later for a variety of reasons.
Outpatient Surgery:
- Two visitors are allowed to accompany the patient before and after surgery.
- Visitors can wait in designated waiting areas, café or coffee shop during surgery.
Ambulatory and Outpatient Settings:
- Two visitors can accompany the patient to medical appointments as needed. Please note in some areas such as outpatient labs, imaging or therapy services, visitors may not be permitted due to the limitation of physical space in the waiting areas.
- Children’s Health Center/Pediatrics will permit up to two parents/guardian visitors per patient.
- Visitors can wait in designated waiting areas, café or coffee shop.
NAH continues to make virtual visitation available and encourages those who wish to visit patients to use this service whenever possible. To schedule a virtual visit or for more information, contact the patient’s care team.