Visitors are now welcome to see patients at The Chester County Hospital 24 hours a day with Open Visitation. The change from traditional visiting hours is a result of evidence and research revealing the benefits of having loved ones at the bedside.
The Hospital embraces the concept of family-centered care by encouraging family support and visitation in an environment of health and safety. Visitors are welcome at all hours, providing patients, their families and loved ones with the ability to develop flexible visitation plans. However, due to the nature of certain units, specialty areas may have more restricted guidelines.
Tina Maher, Director of Telemetry/PINU/CCS at The Chester County Hospital acknowledges the benefits of Open Visitation. "The presence of family and loved ones provides an opportunity to improve recovery and healing for our patients," shares Tina. "It is fundamental to the patient-centered care approach that we provide here."
While visitors are no longer being asked to leave at 8:00 pm, all doors to the building are still secured at this time. After 8:00 pm, visitors are to enter and exit through the Main Entrance only. If a patient wishes to have a visitor stay overnight, one person who is 18 years or older is permitted to do so. The Telemetry Unit of the Hospital's newly opened Tower features a convertible sofa-bed to comfortably accommodate an overnight visitor.
This change has been made in order to treat patients and their loved ones as a whole. The ability to come and go freely is a choice family members now have, with the understanding that rest has a significant impact on the healing process. Together, families and medical staff can continue to provide the compassionate and quality care each patient deserves.
*Due to the nature of certain units, specialty areas may have more restricted guidelines. Nursing staff have the ability to restrict visitation if necessary for the clinical care or adequate rest of the patient.
Click here for full guidelines on Open Visitation.