Visitor Policies & Guidelines

Updated: September 6, 2022

Family presence is an important part of the patient’s healing process. We want to let you know how families can participate in this care process and how visitors can help keep the patient safe and create the best healing environment. Here’s what you should know about our hospital hours.

Standard ETCH Visitation

General Admittance

• Enter through a designated entry point. All of the hospital’s main entrances are open during the day
• After 9 p.m., all non-emergency visitors should enter through the South Tower Main Entrance located at 21^st Street and Clinch Ave.
• We understand that not everyone plans a visit to Children’s Hospital and families have extenuating circumstances when visiting. Staff in the Office of Patient Experience, Nursing, and Care Coordination may evaluate and provide additional guidance.
• Visitors to North and South Tower will be given a colored sticker to alert staff they are approved visitors. Please keep the sticker visible at all times while on Children’s Hospital campus.

General Inpatient Medical/Surgical Units

• Parents or caregivers are encouraged to stay 24 hours a day
• Visiting hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day
• Visitors younger than age 14 must be with an adult. In general, there are no restrictions unless the visitors become disruptive to the care and rest of the patient or on restricted isolation procedures.
• After hours (between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.)
  • Only 2 people may stay at the bedside
  • Those staying overnight must be age 18 or older
  • If the patient is sharing a room (semi-private room), only one caregiver may stay at the bedside
• Security will hand out family passes to those who are spending the night. This happens typically between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. each day.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

• Parents or caregivers are encouraged to stay 24-hours a day.
• Caregivers are grandparents who have been identified by the parent(s) as able to visit in their place 24-hours a day.
• Visiting hours (not including parents and caregivers) are 8a.m. to 6:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Visitors must be at least 16 years old and are only permitted to visit when the parent is present, caregivers cannot approve visitors to come to the room.
• From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., a maximum of 4 persons (including parents or caregivers) may visit at the same time to ensure adequate space to deliver care and maintain infant security.
• After 10 p.m., only 2 parent and/or caregivers may stay overnight at bedside.
• Parents, caregivers, and visitors are not permitted to visit other patient rooms to protect each families right to privacy and to control the spread of potential infections from room to room.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

• At least 1 Parent or caregiver is encouraged to stay 24 hours a day
• Visiting hours are 7:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. to 6:45 a.m.
• Due to space constraints, only four people may be in the room at one time, including family
• Only 1 parent may sleep at the bedside
• Visitors must be at least 3 years old

Emergency Department

• Open 24 hours a day
• Due to space constraints, a maximum of 2 visitors may be in the exam and treatment areas, including family members.
• Two visitor passes will be issued at check-in.

Outpatient Areas / Clinics –  (Outpatient Surgery, Radiology, Rehabilitation, Clinics and other testing)

• A maximum of 2 visitors (including family members & siblings) may be in the waiting room, exam and treatment areas.

Reasons we may change visitation

• The patient needs rest or privacy
• The patient is getting medical treatment
• We may need to stop the spread of germs due to community illness or specific patient isolation protocols.
• Visiting may cause problems with the care of the patient or other patients
• There are security concerns.

Restricted visitation

During times of pandemic illness (e.g. – COVID-19, Influenza)

• Guidelines will be reviewed by administration and infection prevention and updated on the etch.com website
• In general, visitors under the age of 16 will be restricted
• Visitors who are not a parent or legal guardian may be restricted (limit 1-2 caregivers at the bedside)
• Additional source control measures like masks may be required

Mail

If you'd like to send a card, letter or small gift to one of our patients, just address it to:

Attention: [Patient Name], [Room Number]
2018 W Clinch Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37916

If the patient is no longer at the hospital when we receive your mail, we will forward it to their home address.

Balloons

Parents and guests are discouraged from bringing Latex balloons as gifts for our patients. East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a latex-free facility due to risk of allergies. Please only bring Mylar balloons as gifts for patients.