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Inpatient care information

Main Hospital, 7th Floor: Inpatient care information

Thank you for choosing CHoR for your child’s medical care. We understand that a hospital stay can be stressful for the whole family. Our goal is to provide high quality, family- centered care always.

General inpatient care is provided on three units dedicated exclusively to children:

Room assignments

The pediatric units include both semi-private and private rooms that are assigned based on medical need. While we wish every room could be private, the availability of private rooms is limited so a child needing a private room for medical reasons will be given top priority.

Spending the night

Being in the hospital can be frightening for your child and we encourage a parent/guardian to be here as much as possible. One parent or legal guardian is permitted to stay overnight. The following guidelines are designed for your child’s safety and your comfort.

  • Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and water when entering and leaving your child’s room.
  • We have a flexible visitation policy, but for safety reasons, no one under age 18 may stay in your child’s room overnight.
  • A sleep chair or recliner will be provided, along with sheets and a blanket for you to make up your sleeping space. Sleep chairs must be in the chair (not sleep) position during the day.
  • When you are at the bedside we encourage you to help care for your child. This may involve things like calming your child and assisting with diaper changes and baths. Our goal is to help normalize the hospital experience for you and your child.
  • Visitors should wear appropriate clothing and shoes when visiting patients.

For safety, privacy and infection control reasons, do not visit other patients’ rooms during your child’s stay.

Click here for special lodging information including Ronald McDonald House and The Doorways. Please ask your child’s nurse for a referral to one of these special lodging options.

Visitors

Our inpatient units have an open visitation policy that is based on the medical condition of the patient. Please keep the following guidelines in mind.

  • Only two visitors may be at the bedside at one time
  • Visitors must be 18 years old and older
  • Please wear a face covering when team members are in the patient room
  • Visitors will not be allowed if they have a cold, fever or any recent exposure to an infectious disease like the flu or chicken pox.
  • Please be mindful of other patients’ rights to privacy and a quiet environment.
  • While having family and friends visit is essential, allowing quiet time for a sick child to rest is an important part of the recovery process. The medical team may request that you limit visitation based on your child’s medical condition.

Security

The pediatric floor is always secured to ensure that patients are in a protected and caring environment.

  • A photo ID is required of everyone 18 years of age and older for admittance to the 7th floor.
  • The security guard will sign all parents and visitors in and out each time you arrive and leave the 7th floor. Please remember to take your ID with you if going downstairs.
  • If someone does not have photo ID, they will not be allowed to come onto the floor. Parents will not be permitted to visually identify visitors without a photo ID.
  • Please inform your child’s nurse if your child is leaving the room.
  • Children may only go to the rooftop Children’s Garden with a staff member or parent/guardian.
  • Neither staff nor family may take a patient off the floor without a doctor’s order.
  • Smoking is not allowed on the rooftop Children’s Garden or on hospital grounds.

Our commitment to a drug-free campus: What to know ahead of your next appointment

We believe it is in the best interest of our patients, visitors and the community to remain a smoke-free, firearm-free and drug-free campus.

While it is now legal in Virginia for people 21 and older to have small amounts of marijuana for personal use, marijuana remains an illegal substance under federal law.

Since our health system follows federal guidelines pertaining to marijuana, many of our VCU Health policies remain the same.

What this means for patients and visitors: 

  • We do not allow the possession or consumption of any amount of marijuana in any VCU Health-owned, operated or leased facility or on our campuses.
  • Please do not bring any amount of marijuana to an appointment or when visiting a loved one.
  • We will ask any patient or visitor found to be in possession of any amount of marijuana or using marijuana while on our premises to remove the substance from our facility and campus setting right away or it will be confiscated and held securely for thirty days before being destroyed.
  • Consuming marijuana in public or offering it to people in public, as a gift or otherwise, is illegal under the law.

Support services

We believe in treating the whole child, not just the illness. Our team provides an array of support services to ease your child’s hospital stay. Please speak to your child’s nurse for more information on:

Meals/snacks

Patient meals are served at approximately 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. Snacks are provided only for the patient. Food may be brought from home if allowed on your child’s diet. Food may be stored in the patient refrigerator labeled with your child’s name, date and time.

The following food options are available for family members:

PICU visitors may not eat inpatient rooms.

Parking

The Patient and Visitor deck is located at 529 North 12th Street. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Parking for visitors is free. You will need to have your parking ticket validated at the Critical Care Hospital Information/Security Desk before leaving. Valet parking is available Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the main entrances of the Gateway Building, Ambulatory Care Center, Children’s Pavilion and North Hospital. The cost is $5 per visit.

Quick facts

  • Dial 9 for local calls and dial 8-0 for long-distance using a calling card or collect.
  • Contact child life to check out DVDs. We have everything from the classics to cartoons and new releases.

Resource phone numbers

Download inpatient information

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