Visitor Guidelines
- Visitors must be at least 12 years old
- Most hospital visiting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily; however, other clinical settings/locations may vary. Please see visitor policies related to other care settings below
Amid an increase in respiratory illness transmissions and guidance by the Illinois Department of Public Health, we are updating our masking policy to protect our most vulnerable patients:
- We require patients and visitors to mask when experiencing respiratory virus symptoms.
- We strongly recommend patients to mask when they are seeking care in high-risk areas*, and other individuals to mask when they are visiting patients in high-risk areas*.
- We kindly ask visitors who are sick to please reschedule visits.
*High risk areas include all areas within our inpatient medical centers (i.e. inpatient units, ICUs, procedural areas, labor & delivery), emergency departments and cancer centers. If you are unsure, please ask.
Intensive Care Unit
- 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Only two visitors at a time. Visitors must be at least 12 years old. Visitors will follow established ICU safety guidelines. Exceptions to these hours will be made based on the patients' condition.
Medical Surgical Units
- 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. daily. Only two visitors at a time.
Lounges and Waiting Rooms
Lounges and waiting rooms are located at the end of the corridor on each patient floor. The waiting room for families of surgery patients is in the main (east) lobby on the first floor.
Infection Control
- Please observe good hand hygiene practices, including disinfecting your hands upon entering and leaving a patient’s room. (Alcohol-based hand gel dispensers are placed conveniently for this purpose.)
- Please refrain from visiting a patient if you have, or have been exposed to, COVID-19, a cold, flu or other illness.
- If you are visiting a patient who has been placed under special infection-control precautions or isolation, please read the isolation signs, check with the patient’s nurse, and make sure you understand and cooperate with the required precautions.
- For patients on isolation precautions for COVID-19, visitors should wear a standard mask, gown and gloves in the room and discard gown and gloves and do hand hygiene upon leaving the room.
- For patients on droplet precautions for other respiratory viruses, visitors should wear a standard mask in the room and discard this mask and do hand hygiene upon leaving the room.
- For patients on airborne isolation, visitors should discuss the appropriate mask recommendations with the patient’s nurse before entering an isolation room.
- If visiting a patient in special isolation, refrain from visiting public areas within the hospital (i.e. the cafeteria).
No smoking is allowed at NorthShore University HealthSystem facilities including outside grounds and parking structures.