For visitors at North Suburban Medical Center

General visitation hours are between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, with exceptions noted below.

We also offer these after-hours visitation rules:

• All outside doors will be locked no later than 9:00pm with the exception of the emergency department entrance.
• All visitors and patients will enter through the emergency department after hours.
• After-hours visitors are allowed to enter the facility at the discretion of security and emergency department staff.
• All doors will be reopened no earlier than 5:00am.

Circumstances may allow for specific exceptions to any visitation restrictions described on this webpage. Those circumstances include religious visitation as well as a designated support person for a patient with a disability to provide assistance with communication or other necessary components of the patient's treatment. All persons entering under an exception remain subject to appropriate infection control protocols.

• Only two visitors per patient are at one time are preferred.
• The operator will announce via overhead paging when visiting hours are over.
• Children may not stay overnight unless authorized by the nursing supervisor and/or director of the unit. An adult, other than the patient must be present at all times to supervise visiting children. If appropriate arrangements cannot be made, hospital staff will contact the County Department of Social Services.
• Visitors under the age of 16 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all times.
• Sick or ill visitors should refrain from visiting patients until they are well.
• Visitors are not allowed to sleep or stay overnight in vacant patient rooms unless otherwise stated for specific units.
• Visitors are asked not to wander the halls while engaged in phone conversations out of respect for other patients and families.

Visitation may be restricted or interrupted for the following reasons:

• At the discretion of the caregiver or other hospital staff
• If staff feel the visitors are hindering patient healing in any way (e.g. creating a stressful situation, ill visitors, interrupting patient rest)
• At the request of the patient or legal guardian
• By physician order
• To provide the patient with adequate rest periods
• Patient is undergoing a medical procedure or a nursing intervention
• Restrictions initiated by hospital administration or safety officer due to a disaster, epidemic, or other unique situation
• Caregiver/provider needs to speak confidentially with patient
• Once the main entrance is secured after hours

• Visitors will not be allowed to rest in the same bed as the patient.
• Visitors of the opposite sex of the patient may not spend the night unless the patient is in a private room (note exception below).
• One visitor who is the same sex as the patient may remain in a patient’s semi-private room overnight (not in the vacant bed) if it supports the comfort and well-being of the patient.
• One visitor who is the opposite sex as the patient in a room with an empty bed may remain in a patient’s semi-private room (not in the vacant bed) bed is required for an incoming patient.

Patients may have an unlimited number of visitors per day, with no more than two visitors at a time. Additional unit-based exceptions or restrictions may apply. For the health and safety of our patients and staff, physicians and staff reserve the right to limit visitors for some patients.

Children of any age are permitted but must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Everyone is required to wear a mask to protect patients, visitors, staff and providers.

Wear your mask up to the top of your nose and under your chin — snug and without gaps.

By entering this building, you are attesting that the answer is “NO” to these questions:

• Do you have symptoms of COVID-19, which include: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea?
• Within the past 14 days, have you been in close physical contact (six feet or closer for at least 15 minutes) with a person who is known to have COVID-19 or with anyone who has the symptoms listed above?
• Are you currently waiting on the results of a COVID-19 test or have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 10 days?

All patients seeking care for an emergency medical condition, regardless of their vaccination status or ability to wear a mask, will be admitted to the emergency department. We will provide non-mask alternative accommodations.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation around these safety measures.

Certain units have unique visitation guidelines in place to prioritize the health of the patient. If you are uncertain, please speak to the head nurse on your loved one's unit with questions.

Pediatric unit

Parents may visit our pediatric unit at any time. Further guidelines include:

• Siblings and other visitors must follow normal visitor hours.
• Visitors are limited to two visitors at a time at the bedside.
• Pediatric patients will be allowed to have parents remain with them unless their presence hinders the delivery of care.

Emergency department

All doors entering the emergency department are secured.

Intensive care unit (ICU)

Visitors are limited to two at a time at the bedside. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the patient’s care team. Other guidelines include:

• Visitation in ICU is limited during shift reports and multidisciplinary rounds in order to protect patient privacy.
• No children under 12 years of age are permitted. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the patient’s care team.
• Due to safety concerns, the following items are not allowed in patient rooms: meals, snacks or beverages not intended for the patient, fresh flowers, plants or balloons.

Labor and delivery

Visitors may be limited to four people at any given time and at the discretion of nursing staff and providers. Other instructions include:

• Only the siblings of the infant will be allowed in the room.
• When not in the labor and delivery room, visitors will be asked to return to the waiting room, not to wait in the hallways.
• One overnight adult guest may stay with the mother in the labor and delivery room.
• Cell phones are permitted in the patient's room. During integral times of patient care, cell phones must be silenced.

Newborn nursery and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)

Visitation will be restricted during certain periods of the year (e.g. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or flu season). Further guidance includes:

• For the safety and security of our patients, only the mother and one other adult as designated by the mother of the child may visit the newborn in the nursery. This designated adult must be banded to match the mother and newborn.
• All other visitors (including siblings) will be allowed to visit with the newborn in the mother’s postpartum room at the mother’s discretion.
• In the NICU, there may be only two visitors at the bedside at a time. Due to the increase in susceptibility of infection in babies, siblings under the age of three will only be allowed one visit during the infant’s hospital stay.
• A discharged twin may return to visit the NICU as long as they have not been exposed to any illness.
• Parents or guardians of NICU patients may stay overnight in an empty patient room or designated sleeping room at the hospital up to three days prior to the baby’s discharge in order to learn to care for the baby. Visitors should be made aware that if the space is needed for patient care, then the room where they are staying will need to be vacated immediately. The hospital must track any visitors staying overnight in a private room or sleeping room.

Postpartum unit

Visitors may be limited to four people at any given time. One overnight adult guest may stay with the mother in the postpartum room.

Patients can receive flowers, cards and small gifts during their hospital stay. These can be ordered via phone from our gift shops or through the vendor of your choice. Some units have rules on what can be sent, so please check with unit staff before sending anything.

Sending flowers, cards or small gifts

Please send items to the following address:

[Patient Name], [Room #]
C/O North Suburban Medical Center
9191 Grant Street
Thornton, CO 80229

You can also send flowers to a patient online.

To contact a patient by phone, call (303) 451-7800.

Please give the operator the patient's name and room number to be connected.