Visiting Hours and Guidelines

Planning your visit

At CoxHealth, it’s simple. Patients come first. And most patients want their friends and loved ones near during a hospital stay. Visitors are encouraged; we just ask that you follow the guidelines below for the applicable CoxHealth hospital and unit.

Access to care and our facilities is given without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion, marital status, citizenship, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and/or other legally protected classifications.

Visiting Hours and Guidelines

After-Hours Visitor Pass

There can be no more than two visitors per patient at the same time. If you’re visiting a family member after regular visiting hours, you must obtain an after-hours visitor pass. Passes are available from the nurses' station on each inpatient unit. Visitor passes for other areas of the hospital must be obtained from the security officer assigned to those areas.

Children as Visitors

Children are welcome as visitors in most areas of our hospitals. For their health and safety, they must at all times be accompanied by an adult who is not the patient. Children are not allowed to stay as overnight visitors. Occasionally children’s access as visitors may be limited to protect patient, staff and visitor health, especially during outbreaks of diseases such as influenza.

Family and Visitor Behavior

A restful environment promotes healing. Help us make your loved one’s stay as comfortable as possible by keeping our guidelines in mind.

Family or visitors may not consume alcohol or illegal drugs while on the hospital campus. CoxHealth maintains a tobacco-free campus; family or visitors may not smoke within the confines of any CoxHealth property. This includes outdoor areas such as parking lots, building entranceways, etc. Visitors and family should not sit or lie on patient beds or use recording devices without prior approval. Visitors and family should only use public restrooms.

Please note that family and visitors may be required to leave the premises if they become disruptive or interfere with the general comfort and care of patients, other visitors or staff. In all instances, CoxHealth retains decision-making authority to exclude visitors/family from hospital property, including patient rooms and treatment areas, if CoxHealth has reason to believe that a visitor/family member poses a risk (safety, health or otherwise) to hospital staff, patients, family or other visitors.

Bringing Items With You

Food, flowers and other items may not be allowed in certain areas of the hospital, so it's a good idea to check with the nurse first. If flowers are allowed and you change the water in the vase, be certain to clean your hands when you’re finished.

Patient rooms can become easily cluttered. Please help us keep rooms as clutter-free as possible by keeping items off the floor and away from waste containers. These simple steps ease the critical job of cleaning a hospital room.

Infection Control

If you have recently and knowingly been exposed to an infectious or communicable illness such as influenza (flu), chicken pox or gastrointestinal illness, please do not enter CoxHealth’s facilities unless you are seeking treatment. If you have any symptoms of illness such as a runny nose, cough or other symptoms of respiratory infection, or symptoms of any suspected contagious disease, please stay home unless you are seeking treatment for yourself.

To keep yourself and our patients healthy, you must wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving patient rooms.

Special Precautions

If the person you’re visiting is on "Isolation Precautions," talk to the nurse before entering the room to find out what steps you need to take, and ask if any educational materials are available. You may be required to wear a mask or other protective clothing during your visit.