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Visiting
We are committed to family-focused care, and allow parents almost 24-hour a day visitation. Due to HIPAA regulations and patient privacy concerns, the unit is closed to visitors during shift report (6:45am-7:30am and 6:45pm-7:30pm). The unit is also closed to visitors from 10pm-11pm to allow for daily routines that require as little traffic as possible. Additional exceptions may be made due to emergency situations or when there is a need to respect special circumstances related to an individual family. The number of visitors is limited to two at a time (and one must be banded for identification purposes). For the safety of your baby, nurses will verify your I.D. band before each visit. Visitors must be older than 16 years, immunizations must be up-to-date, and we ask that if there are any signs or symptoms of illness, that you not bring that person in with you.
Handwashing
All parents and visitors are required to wash their hands before entering the NICU. To help prevent the spread of germs we ask parents to wash their hands before handling their baby and after diaper changes. For the parents of multiples, we ask that they wash their hands when going from one child to another. We have several sinks in each room, and have instant hand sanitizer at each bedside. Please ask your baby's nurse if you need assistance.
Bringing Things From Home
Parents may bring one small stuffed animal for their baby's bedside. Due to infection risks, no clothes or blankets are allowed from home.
The NICU Environment
- We try to make the environment around the babies as comfortable as we can. Some things we do to help with this are keeping the noise levels moderate, allowing for patterns in light and dim (to help develop sleep/wake cycles) keeping the baby's position flexed, allowing undisturbed periods of sleep, and providing opportunities to interact when awake.
- We encourage what we call "cluster care" in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Premature infants are very sensitive to touch as well as sound. We attempt to do all of our hands on care (assessment, suctioning, repositioning, holding) around the same time and then allowing for extended periods of rest for your infant.
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