Visiting the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU):
- Regular visiting hours are from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
- Please announce your visit. Use the wall phone in the waiting area, or notify the volunteer when you arrive.
- Handwashing is the single most important procedure in a hospital for preventing and controlling the spread of infection. Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the CSICU.
- To protect the health of our patients, please do not visit if you feel unwell, have a cold or other respiratory infection.
- A "password" will be required to obtain patient information from a health care provider. This password is not required to visit patients.
Visiting
Although visiting hours are flexible, we ask that you visit after 12 noon. Before coming into the CSICU, please talk with the volunteer, or use the wall phone in the visitor waiting room to call directly into the CSICU (extension. 36661). At your first visit, the volunteer will give you a card with the phone extension of the phone nearest your loved one. It is very important that you announce your arrival to ensure the dignity and privacy of all patients.
Visitors may be limited to two at a time. We ask that visits be limited to those who are closest to the patient. The number of times you may visit and the length of visits may be limited due to the unpredictable nature of critical care. Understand the CSICU is unpredictable: things may not always go as planned; sometimes visitors may be asked to leave during these times. This can be frustrating, but we ask for your understanding.
Calling
Mornings and evenings are busy times in the CSICU. Nurses and respiratory therapists change shifts between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., and again from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. If possible, please do not call or visit during these hours. Nurses and respiratory therapists are exchanging detailed information about patients, performing thorough assessments, and providing medicines and treatments at this time. After the morning shift change, staff will participate in morning rounds, bed baths, dressing changes, x-rays, and other routine care.
In order to protect patients’ personal health information, we have now implemented a “password” system when requesting patient information, either by phone or when visiting. To avoid sharing information with people who it should not be accessible to, we are asking the patient or substitute decision maker to create a password that must be stated when calling the unit for information. In the case of larger families, we ask that one family member be appointed that spokesperson to call the unit for updates and then inform the rest of the family.
This password is not meant to be used as a deterrent to visiting patients. It is not required to visit a patient, however it will be required at the bed side if information is requested. As this is a new initiative for our unit, we would appreciate feedback to your care provider so we can make changes to best serve our patients and their families. We appreciate your cooperation and thank you for helping us protect patient personal health information.
We are flexible and will work with you to meet your needs and the needs of the patient.
