Visitors are OUT OF CONTROL!!!

graceomalleyRN, RN · Jul 7, 2008

Here's my question -- MRSA and other nosocomial infections, aren't hospital visitors at some risk of contracting these or is it only patients?

ADPIE10 · Jul 7, 2008

Here's my question -- MRSA and other nosocomial infections, aren't hospital visitors at some risk of contracting these or is it only patients?

According to Nester, Microbiology: A human perspective, 5th edition:

Various studies have shown that in the case of surgical wound infections, nasal carriers have a two to seven times greater risk of infection than do those who are not nasal carriers. From 30% to 100% of the infections in different studies are due to a patient's own staphylococcus strain. Advanced age, poor general health, immunosuppression, prolonged preoperative hospital stay, and infection at site other than the site of surgery increase the risk of infection.

Visitors can be at risk to contracting MRSA, but a portal of entry into the human host would be required as well as susceptibility. Most of us carry S. aureus as part of our normal flora of our nose.

EnkeliRN · Jul 7, 2008

I'm so glad I work nights when there is less visitors or no visitors at all. However, I worked last spring during day time and boy we had all kinds of visitors & it was really hard planning any kind of care when there is five to six visitors in each room with two beds. It was awful; I think there should be a mandatory rule for all visitors to leave the room when a care is provided to their loved ones.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2008

I can totally understand the frustration of visitors, but having been on the other end of that spectrum with both myself and my son, I can say that visitors were a godsend. I do think that having 10 people in the room is crazy while 2-4 is perfectly acceptable. It sounds like your place is way out of control.

abbaking · Jul 7, 2008

I can totally understand the frustration of visitors, but having been on the other end of that spectrum with both myself and my son, I can say that visitors were a godsend. I do think that having 10 people in the room is crazy while 2-4 is perfectly acceptable. It sounds like your place is way out of control.

Thats not exactly healthy either to have 2-4 visitors per patient in semiprivate rooms (or in my case 3 bed rooms). I will play the devil's advocate here. Imagine a 3-bed room in acute med-surg with each patient having 4 visitors. Now imagine each patient with either a foley, jp, hemovac, and bedside cammode. Now also take into consideration that the space between each bed is only 3 feet. Add into the equation numerous chairs for the visitors, bedside tables and overbed trays......and IV pumps and poles, thrombogaurd machines. God forbid the patient in bed three CODES cause by the time we cleared the room of chairs, visitors and unnessassary equipment, the patient would have expired. My point i am getting at is that visitors should be limited to NO more than 2 at a time for 2 hour intervals. Let the poor patient rest for crying out loud!

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2008

We are open 24hours and just this past weekend I found my voice shaking and my hands clenching when I was attempting to explain to a wife that she cant just take her husbands bipap mask off at 0500 because she wants to wean him off 02. His sats were 72!!!! I told her the mask had to go back on, it was only 0500 breakfast wouldnt be here for another 2.5 hours, he needs to get his rest I turned his light off. I had not even got back to the nursing station and his mask was back off and his lights on. She wanted to stand him next to the bed so he could regain his strength!!!

Lord help me, this was the same wife that brought him in his pack of smokes that he smoked in the BR then every family member adimantly denied it, even though you could still physically see the smoke in the room!!!!

He made the slightest of wimper/snore in the night and she jumped up and questioned him. "Bob you want to sit up? are you cold, are you hungry, are you thirsty, you want your mask off"....No lady he groaned---in his sleep---LET HIM SLEEP.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2008

I hear what your saying, but I have to admit that while I was in the hospital (10 days) my only bright time was when I had visitors. Staff is so busy and sleep is so difficult that I really needed (and wanted) visitors. My infant son was in the hospital for 6 weeks when he was first born. A 2 hr 2 person visiting schedule would not have worked at all. There was no way dad and I would leave his side. I know its frustrating and I'll be walking in your shoes soon, but visitors are so important to patients. I agree there should be some guidelines (how many, volume control, etc), but loved ones are going to come and they're going to stay. This is our job, but it is the pts home for whatever length their stay is. I don't mean to upset anyone, I just wanted to say how I felt during my stay and my son's.

MrsMommaRN · Jul 7, 2008

visitors can be a huge pita. talk to your nurse manager voice your concerns. let him/her know that patient needs and care are being compromised due to visitors. we have several notices posted around our unit that reads something like this:

we here at x hospital understand that your family members illness/trauma can be a very emotional time for your family. the nurses are here to provide quality care during a critical time. if at any time the nurse feels that care is being compromised or the patient is in need of respite from visitors they will be asked to leave.

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2008

we here at x hospital understand that your family members illness/trauma can be a very emotional time for your family. the nurses are here to provide quality care during a critical time. if at any time the nurse feels that care is being compromised or the patient is in need of respite from visitors they will be asked to leave.

i am going to present this to my mgr. very kind/direct and to the point.

BradleyRN · Jul 7, 2008

I really needed (and wanted) visitors.

Patients should have all the visitors they want. They are going through a scary time and if it makes them feel more comfortable, then i am all for it. When the nurse comes in the room however, these visitors should leave (unless the pt is a minor). Many times i have had to draw up meds while being constantly distracted by family members. As long as we can get rid of that situation, and have our privacy with the patient whenever necessary, it would not be a problem.

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2008

our hospital and ICU have visiting hous, some enforce them, others don't. god help you if you are the nurse that does. administration WILL NOT back you for enforcing their own policy. i had enough. i authored an ICU/SDU family handbook that will be given to each family upon admission. in it things like age appropriate visiting was explained, (no baby john doesn't need to see grandpa ventilated in an ICU) when it was most convinient to call for updates (not during med pass or report), why the number of visitors is set a 2 per bedside, why it's important to have a family spokesperson to disperse information to other members rather than have 30 calls to field during the shift, why it is important to leave at the hospital overhead announcement that visiting hours are over (and yes, this means YOU). in the booklet, i attempted to site the "usual" visiting hours commonly accepted by most nurses i work with only to be shot down by administration. (ours are every hour for 15 min while most allow people in from 11 to 2000). administration insisted policy had to be stated because the handbook would be distributed by the hospital, although they recognize that if people whine enough, the rules wouldn't be supported and the nurse would be disciplined???? we'll see,the explainations are fair, honest and make the PATIENT the big focus. who knows......it might help?! at least i'm trying to make sense of the madness. :specs: