Visitors and support persons are a vital aspect of the patient’s healing process and are welcomed 24 hours a day. Visitation will be guided by the nursing staff depending upon patient preference and the care requirements of each patient. The patient has the responsibility to inform the nursing staff of visitors they wish to exclude from visiting. The hospital will endeavor to provide maximal privacy and confidentiality of all patients, maintain an environment conducive to rest, healing and prevent the potential for the spread of infection.

Visitation within St. Charles hospitals:

a. Hospital patients may have 2 visitors (age five and older) at a time. If the patient is entitled to a support person, that support person will be counted as one of the patient’s visitors. (Children will be accompanied by an adult caregiver or parent and will not be under the direct care of any person admitted as a patient at St. Charles Health System. If accommodations cannot be made by a guardian or designee, St. Charles will work to make alternative supervisory arrangements for a child while their guardian is under our care, including working with law enforcement and the Oregon Department of Human Services.)

b. When required by St. Charles policy or situationally as determined by the unit manager/assistant nurse manager, visitors are required to follow universal masking and physical distancing policies as outlined in Environmental Source Control (Universal Masking and Physical Distancing) During COVID-19 – Policy.

c. Visitors and any others entering St. Charles hospitals or clinics will not engage in disruptive, abusive, threatening, or unsafe behaviors, to be determined in the sole discretion of the unit or department manager. A visitor who continues engaging in any such behavior after being asked to cease will be escorted from the premises immediately.

d. If there are indications that a visitor is bringing the patient a drug or an item that might be harmful to the patient, the visitor will be requested to have his/her belongings inspected. If the visitor refuses, the staff member, in consultation with a supervisor, determines whether he/she will be permitted to visit.

e. Visitors to patients with highly infectious respiratory illnesses will be expected to wear all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including respiratory protection that is appropriate to the patient’s precaution level while in the isolation room. Appropriate PPE includes a procedure mask for droplet or an unfitted N95 for airborne or enhanced droplet, in addition to a gown, gloves and eye protection.

i. Highly infectious respiratory illnesses are those that are spread via droplets or airborne droplet nuclei and are easily transmitted and/or cause severe illness. Questions about respiratory illnesses not included in the examples may be escalated to Infection Prevention. Examples include but are not limited to: COVID-19, Tuberculosis, Varicella (chickenpox or disseminated shingles), measles, mumps or rubella, any other disease requiring airborne precautions not mentioned above, influenza, and RSV.

Visitation Policy Specific to Pediatrics – Bend and Prineville (under 18 years of age, if admitted to the pediatric unit):

i. Parents and support persons may visit 24 hours a day. A parent or support person over the age of 18 is encouraged to stay the night with the patient.

ii. Visitors are limited to two at a time, one of whom must be a parent or guardian, unless parent(s) or guardian(s) have given permission for others to visit in their absence. This does not apply to Behavioral Health patients; see Pediatric Psychiatric Inpatient Guidelines (Pediatric Mental Health Inpatient Guidelines) for visitor restrictions.

iii. To maximize patient privacy and safety, pediatric patients will not leave their rooms unless under direct supervision of nursing staff, or a parent/support person over the age of 18.