MassGeneral Hospital for Children encourages a nurturing and healing environment and we strongly believe involved parents and family members play a vital role on a child’s road to recovery. The hospital does not have set visiting hours and family members are invited to visit at any time.
Visit Limitations
While there is no set visiting policy for parents, we do place some limitations on visitors if they are ill and will restrict entry to the hospital if a visit might interfere with a child’s recovery. Visiting policies are enforced to preserve the exceptional quality of care children deserve while they’re at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. For more information, please talk to your caregiver or physician.
Overnight Stays for Parents
Please keep in mind that having a hospitalized child can be physically and emotionally draining. So if you’d like to stay overnight, MassGeneral Hospital for Children usually recommends that one parent stay at a time, so the other can go home and rest. However, if both parents want to stay and it’s in the child’s best interest, we will accommodate your wishes. If you need information about hotels, please see overnight accommodations.
Inpatient Floors Locked at Night
From 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. the doors to inpatient units are locked. If family visitors come during this time, a representative from the hospital reception area will alert the inpatient floor that your child has a visitor.
Siblings
Siblings can visit at any time as well, but generally do not stay overnight. Children who are ill, sick with cold or flu, or have had vomiting or diarrhea in the previous twenty four hours should not visit the pediatric inpatient floors since they may pass infection or a virus to other children who are hospitalized. If a child has been exposed to any infectious disease, such as chicken pox, measles, or whooping cough/pertussis during the three weeks before they visit the hospital, please call the inpatient floor to determine the appropriateness of the visit.
E-mail and Gift Shop
We do encourage keeping in touch with patients by mail or e-mail. We also have a gift shop filled with all kinds of goodies for children as well as gifts and necessities for adults.
