Can my family stay with me in critical care?

Many hospitals have "open visitation" which means that you can visit at any time of the day and night and that you can spend the night with your family member. It is important to check with the nurse taking care of your family member what the visitation policy is. Some hospitals do not have open visitation policies and restrict visiting hours to certain times and in the critical care unit of the hospital.

The American Association of Critical Care nurses recommendation to critical care units is to have "open" visiting hours.  This recommendation is based on research studies that show increased patient & family satisfaction.  Most modern critical care units allow at least one family member to stay and have accomadations for a family member.

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