Patient Visitation Rights Statement

Patient Visitation Rights

DCH Health System embraces a philosophy of open and flexible visitation that welcomes and encourages the involvement of family and significant others in the patient’s care. Accordingly, the hospital has adopted this Statement on Patient Visitation Rights:

• Patients may receive visitors of their choosing, including, but not limited to, a spouse, a domestic partner (including a same-sex domestic partner), another family member, or a friend.
• Patients may refuse to consent to a person visiting them, or may withdraw consent to see a visitor at any time.
• DCH Health System will ensure that all visitors enjoy full and equal visitation privileges consistent with patient preferences. Without limiting the previous sentence, the hospital will not restrict, limit, or otherwise deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability, nor will it permit anyone else to do so.
• Patients may designate a “support person” to exercise their visitation rights on their behalf. Patients may designate a Support Person in any manner, including verbally, in writing, or through non-verbal communications (such as pointing).
• This hospital can apply reasonable clinical restrictions and other limitations on patient visitation. Reasonable restrictions may be based upon, but are not limited solely to, any of the following:

• a court order limiting or restraining contact,
• a visitor’s behavior presenting a direct risk or threat to the patient, hospital staff, or others in the immediate environment,
• visitor behavior that is disruptive to the functioning of the patient care unit involved;
• the patient’s risk of infection by the visitor,
• the visitor’s risk of infection by the patient,
• a patient’s need for privacy or rest,
• the need for privacy or rest by another patient in the patient’s shared room, any special restriction rules that apply to special patient care units (intensive care, mental health/behavioral health, drug and alcohol, etc.), and
• when visitation would otherwise interfere with the care of the patient and/or the care of other patients.