Visitor Information

Visitation rules and policies.

Our visitors policy applies to Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics, its physicians and clinical staff members, and all hospital personnel involved in the decision-making process with respect to patient visitation for all inpatients and outpatients. The goal is to ensure all visitors of patients at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics enjoy equal visitation privileges consistent with patient preferences, subject to the hospital’s Justified Clinical Restrictions. Justified Clinical Restrictions means any clinically necessary or reasonable restriction or limitation imposed by the Hospital on a patient’s visitation rights when a restriction or limitation is necessary to provide safe care to the patient or other patients. 

Justified Clinical Restrictions may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

• A court order limiting or restraining contact
• Behavior presenting a direct risk or threat to the patient, hospital staff, or others in the immediate environment
• Behavior disruptive of the functioning of the patient care unit
• Reasonable limitations on the number of visitors at any one time
• Patient’s risk of infection by the visitor
• Visitor’s risk of infection by the patient
• Extraordinary protections because of a pandemic or infectious disease outbreak
• Substance abuse treatment protocols requiring restricted visitation
• Patient’s need for privacy or rest
• When a patient is undergoing a clinical intervention or procedure and the treating health professional believes it is in the best interest of the patient to limit visitation during the clinical intervention or procedure.

Policy

• We recognize the patient’s need to maintain contact with the community in which they have lived or are familiar. Therefore, the patient is permitted to have visitors as they permit. The patient may visit with immediate family or other relatives any time subject to the protection of the rights and safety of other patients and any restrictions imposed by the patient.
• Patients are permitted to visit with representatives from federal and state survey agencies, patient advocates, the state long-term care ombudsman, protection and advocacy agencies for individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness, clergy, and their personal physician at any time.
• A patient has the right to no visitors. The patient has the right to deny visitation at any time. The hospital reserves the right to limit the number of visitors in the room at any given time. Space is available in the lobby for patients to receive guests in reasonable comfort. Disruptive visitors may be asked to leave the hospital.
• A critically ill patient may have visitors of their choice at any time if visitation is not medically contraindicated. (NOTE: The patient’s care plan identifies visitor restriction information.)
• The hospital reserves the right to change the location of a visit if such visit infringes upon other patients in the hospital. Unless otherwise permitted by the patient, visitors will be required to wait outside the room or in the lobby while the patient is receiving treatment, undergoing examinations, or receiving personal care.
• Soda, snacks, and other vending machines are available in the cafeteria for visitors’ convenience. Coffee and iced tea are complimentary. At patient mealtimes, a guest tray is available for one person staying “around the clock” with a patient. Notify the nursing staff if you wish to arrange for a meal at a cost of $4 payable when the tray is delivered.