Visiting Hours & Policies

Our Visitor Guidelines

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) welcomes friends and family to support their loved ones during hospital stays or outpatient visits. Here you will find essential information on our general visitor policies, visiting hours and guidelines. For specific hospital units, please talk with unit staff before visiting to confirm visiting policies and guidelines.

For directions, parking and campus maps, visit the BIDMC location page.

Inpatient Unit Visitors

BIDMC encourages family and friends to visit hospitalized patients while following these general guidelines:

• Visiting hours: Most inpatient units welcome visitors 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Visitors should arrive no later than 7:45 p.m.
• Number of visitors: Generally patients may have one or two healthy visitor(s)/escort(s). Talk to the unit staff to confirm the number of visitors allowed.
• Limitations: To ensure patient safety and recovery, some units may have restrictions on the number of visitors or visiting hours. Please follow any guidance and instructions from our staff about limiting the number of visitors at one time.
• Children: On certain units, additional restrictions on children visiting may be in place. The patient’s care team can let you know if this applies. 
• Health and safety: All visitors, designated support persons and escorts must follow BIDMC's health and hygiene policies.  

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Additional guidance for babies that are patients in the NICU include:

• Two parents may be with their infant at any time.
• Other visitors must be accompanied by a parent.
• No children under 12, unless they are an immediate family member. Children will be screened for risk of infection at each visit.
• A total of three people may be at the infant’s bedside at one time.

What's a Designated Support Person?

Designated support persons are not considered visitors. Designated support persons may include, but are not be limited to, an essential escort, a guardian or other legally authorized decision-maker, family member, caregiver, personal care assistant or another disability service provider knowledgeable about the patient's care. This can apply to patients or visitors with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. Designated support persons are also permitted in the Labor and Delivery and Obstetric Unit.

Labor & Delivery

Patients admitted to the Labor and Delivery Unit may have one or two support person(s). Support persons must be 12 years old or older. Support persons between the ages of 12 and 17 must be accompanied by someone who is at least 18 years old.

Once that patient is moved to the post-partum unit, they may have one support person. Additional visitors are allowed according to regular visiting hours and policies. No visitors under the age of 6 are allowed, unless they are visiting a parent or sibling. Patients’ healthy children, or siblings of newborns, may visit but may not stay overnight. 

What's a Patient Escort?

Patient escorts are individuals who assist patients for same-day (outpatient) surgeries, as well as individuals who accompany patients on the day of inpatient surgery. Patients having inpatient surgery may have one or two escorts. Escorts may wait with the patient in designated waiting areas. If the patient is admitted after surgery, visiting hours and policies apply.

Health & Safety

All visitors must follow these important safety practices:

• Make sure you do not have contagious illnesses. Young children especially should be kept at home if there is any chance that they have a cold, flu, strep throat or other contagious disease.
• Clean your hands before and after visiting. You may use the hand sanitizer dispensers available throughout the medical center if your hands are free of visible soil. Otherwise please wash with soap and water. 
• Follow face mask or protective equipment guidance. In some circumstances, additional protection is needed in order to visit. This includes instances in which there is concern about infection, or in cases where the patient prefers that others wear a mask. Please follow posted signage on the room and/or instructions from the staff. 
• Do not adjust side rails or soft restraints. If the side rails on the bed are up, or if a soft restraint is in use, it is because the staff feel the patient is at risk for injury. Visitors should never remove these safety devices without talking with the nurse.
• Maintain a culture of respect for all. Please help us maintain this culture. Visitors who engage in abusive language or threats will be asked to leave.