Visiting A Patient

At Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, we recognize how important it is for our patients to see family members and friends. Visitors help keep patients' spirits up and bring smiles to their faces.

Guidelines for visiting a patient include:

Visiting Hours

Parents and caregivers may stay with their child 24 hours a day. We encourage one adult family member to sleep in their child’s room.

Visiting hours for other family members and friends at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is 8 am — 9 pm. For automated information about visiting hours and directions, call 954-265-7008.

In addition, please:

• Contact the parent or caregiver before visiting to see if the child is ready to receive visitors.
• Respect our “Quiet Time at Nine” (9 pm) rule.
• Bring a sweater — temperatures vary within the hospital.

Number of Visitors

We do not restrict the number of visitors in our main inpatient areas. But only two visitors at a time are allowed in certain areas, including:

• Critical care
• Emergency department
• Outpatient services
• Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) Westside open bays (we allow four visitors for NICU Eastside patients in private rooms)
• Surgical services

Visitors Under Age 18

An adult must supervise visitors under age 18. In addition:

• Children must be age 2 or older to visit the NICU and must have evidence of up-to-date vaccinations.
• Visitors under age 18 are not allowed in procedural areas.

Infection Prevention

Face masks are now optional throughout the hospital. For the protection of our patients, you should not visit if you have:

• Any symptoms of illness, such as a cold, cough, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever or chills
• Recent exposure to a communicable disease, such as COVID-19, flu, strep throat, chicken pox, measles or mumps

Our staff may ask you to leave if you have signs or symptoms of illness or a known exposure to a communicable disease. To help prevent the spread of infection, please:

• Wash your hands before and after entering a patient’s room
• Use the visitor restrooms on the unit rather than the restroom in the patient’s room

Memorial monitors guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When necessary, we may require additional infection prevention measures, such as masks or proof of vaccination.

Safety and Security

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has dedicated security staff on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All adult visitors must show photo identification to enter a facility.

Guests receive a printed photo pass and must wear the pass at all times. We use wristbands to identify parents or guardians.

Hospital staff may ask you to leave if you are disruptive or make any patient uncomfortable.

Gifts

Patients, especially those in intensive care, may have restrictions on the types of gifts they can receive:

• Food and drinks: Patients may have restricted diets while in the hospital. Please check with the child’s parent or caregiver before bringing food or beverages.
• Flowers: Due to the sensitive medical conditions of some patients, flowers are not allowed.
• Balloons: For the safety of those with latex allergies, we allow only Mylar balloons. Please do not bring latex balloons to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Smoking Policy

All Memorial Healthcare System facilities are smoke- and tobacco-free.