Do your visitors gown up?

No, we tell them the risk and offer gowns and gloves, but it's not required, as they're not flitting from room to room like we are.

Thanks KellNY for your response, I appreciate it.

I currently work NICU and so our visitors usually stick around the unit for a while. They come in, feed their baby (or just visit), go pump, have lunch (or dinner), go to scrapbooking, come back in, then go back and pump again...the move all around the unit (or the hospital). While they certainly don't go from patient to patient like we do, my concern is they do go where other parents/visitors go. I'm concerned that they are depositing bugs on countertops, in chairs, on scrapbooking supplies, etc.

Anyone else have experience with perhaps limiting visitors of positive patients to only coming straight in and leaving directly after visiting?

Does your NICU have the mandatory "scrubbing in" for all visitors?

One NICU I did my clinical at had a good policy-they had lab coats (prety nurses ones) that families were supposed to wear when they entered--on top of scrubbing in. This was started, I believe, in response to some nurses who were (rightfully) concerned about parents that would go out, smoke a few cigs, and come in and cuddle their baby. Maybe you could try something like this?

Yep, they gotta gown up if they want to go in the room.

Yes it's required where I work as well. We don't want them taking the bugs out of the room.

Does your NICU have the mandatory "scrubbing in" for all visitors?

One NICU I did my clinical at had a good policy-they had lab coats (prety nurses ones) that families were supposed to wear when they entered--on top of scrubbing in. This was started, I believe, in response to some nurses who were (rightfully) concerned about parents that would go out, smoke a few cigs, and come in and cuddle their baby. Maybe you could try something like this?

We ask that they wash their hands, but unfortunately, no, we do not have a two or three minute scrub requirement (though I think we should).

I like the idea of wearing a gown for holding the baby (for nurses and for visitors), but there are a few recent studies out there now that have demonstrated there is no need to gown up to enter the NICU any more. A lot of us do ask parents to wear a patient gown over their clothes if we smell strong smells of any type (smoke, perfume, etc).

I'm hoping to at least get a good number of responses that point to visitor gowning for the positive kiddos. Currently IC doesn't see the need for the reason you mentioned in your first post. They say the parents don't go from room to room like we do. But I still contend they actually go more places we don't (like I listed in a post above) pump room, nutrition room, scrapbooking, etc...