Can visitors be 'forced' to wear PPE?

[Double-Helix]

We recently had a patient with an influenza requiring droplet isolation. Visitors (the parents) flatly refused to wear a face mask in the room, despite frequent education. The parent did sanitize their hands before entering/leaving the room but did leave several times to use the bathroom and get something to eat. Our nurse manager attempted to address it with the parents as well, but to no avail, and the parents actually ended up getting very upset.

With the JC expected to come to our unit any day, this raised the question on our unit- Can visitors be forced to wear PPE when visiting patients with infectious disease? Especially the parents of a minor child. What would be the steps to take to enforce this? Call security and have the parents escorted from the hospital?

[hodgieRN]

I tell visitors that they will not be let back in. I don't care if they have already been exposed or they say that they wash their hands. Droplets aren't limited to just the hands. People touch their face without knowing it. They tie their shoes, itch their arms, etc. Other pts are put at risk. I always hear the nurses are the biggest carriers of germs, but I think a huge chunk of that are visitors. Why aren't all visitors required to get flu shots to enter the hospital? I look up to you guys that work in peds. I could never put up with the parents. I am sure that most of them are great, but there are crazy, over-bearing, stubborn people who don't want to listen to anything. Their kid is in the hospital and no one is gonna tell them what to do. Every time my mother goes into the hospital, we have to wear MRSA precautions. We all hate it, but we do it. It drives me crazy when people don't follow the rules. I'm just a nurse...what do I know...