Visiting a patient at Studer Family Children’s Hospital
At Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart, we are committed to providing family-centered care. And we know how important family interactions are for a child who is staying in the hospital. Our visiting guidelines are in place to promote a safe, healing environment for our patients.
To find the latest information before your visit, please call 850-416-7000.
General visitation guidelines
Hours: Visiting hours are unlimited.
For visitors between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.: Upon arrival, please visit the information desk and ask for a visitors’ badge. A visitor badge must be worn at all times.
Visitors aged 18 and under are not allowed to stay overnight in hospital rooms or in the lobby.
When you arrive: All visitors must call on the phone located outside the unit to ask the nurse if it is okay to visit at this time. In certain circumstances, we may ask you to wait for a period of time.
To call the room phone of a patient currently in the hospital, dial 416-8 followed by the patient’s three-digit room number. If calling from outside of Northwest Florida, please start by dialing area code 850. Medical information will only be given to the child’s parents, unless the parents have given their permission for another person to receive information.
PICU additional visitation guidelines
Please note the special guidelines below for our pediatric intensive care unit, which apply in addition to the general visitation policy listed above.
- Visiting hours are unlimited. However, we do ask that visitors be kept to a minimum during our quiet hours, which are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Latex balloons are not allowed in the PICU.
NICU additional visitation guidelines
Please note the special guidelines below for our neonatal intensive care unit, which apply in addition to the general visitation policy listed above.
- Because your baby will heal and grow best in a quiet environment, we have planned quiet time every shift.
- Your baby’s nurse may also ask you to leave the unit during a neighboring baby’s admission, during an emergency situation or if another baby in the same room will be having a procedure performed.
- Only parents and immediate grandparents (up to four) may visit. Names of the four grandparents must be provided by parents prior to grandparents being allowed to visit.
- When visiting, parents and grandparents must call on the phone located outside the NICU to ask the nurse if it is okay to visit at this time. Because of procedures occurring in the nursery, we may ask you to wait a period of time.
- ALL visitors must remove their jewelry and wash their hands according to the hand-washing technique posted above scrub sinks at the entrance to the unit.
- Parents and grandparents will be required to wear a mask in the nursery when they visit. (Parents can discontinue masking after culture results are confirmed negative.)
- Only two visitors per baby are allowed to enter the NICU at a time. All other visitors will be asked to wait outside the NICU.
- For safety reasons, parents and grandparents are not allowed to visit at another baby’s bedside.
- Parents are required to wear their ID band until the day of discharge.
While your baby is in the NICU, the amount of care you are able to provide to your baby may be limited, but your care team will try to involve you in your baby’s care as much as possible. As your baby’s condition improves, you will be able to do more, including holding, diapering, feeding, bathing, and more. Your nurse will encourage you to take ‘breaks’ away from the unit. Taking good care of yourself is very important for both you and your baby, and taking time away from the unit is part of this self-care.