Visitor Guidelines

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We’re dedicated to keeping your family safe. These efforts safeguard children who require in-person care – like surgical procedures and vaccines – while also protecting the providers who treat them. As COVID-19 continues to spread in our community, we will modify these efforts as needed.

Visitor Restrictions: 

Non-COVID-19-Positive Patients Admitted to the Hospital

• Phoenix Children’s will allow each inpatient to have two identified healthy primary adult caregivers to visit for the duration of the admission. Patients admitted to the hospital can identify an additional two adult partners in care, who will have visitor access.
• Only two visitors may be in the building and at a child’s bedside at a time. Caregivers with respiratory or COVID-19 symptoms are strongly encouraged to have an alternate caregiver at the bedside.
• Caregivers or partners in care who are COVID-19 positive are not allowed entry into any Phoenix Children’s location until they meet Maricopa County Department of Public Health’s criteria to be released from home isolation.
• Visitors must wear a mask while on campus except when eating, sleeping or in the room alone with the patient. 
• No siblings or additional visitors at this time.

COVID-19-Positive Patients in Special Pathogen Precautions

• Each inpatient is allowed to have two identified healthy adult primary caregivers for the duration of their admission. Caregivers with respiratory or COVID-19 symptoms will not be allowed at the bedside until they have been cleared by Infection Prevention.
• Visitors cannot go to the cafeteria or other public areas of the hospital.
• No siblings or additional visitors at this time.

Surgical Patients in Main Operating Room, Aerodigestive and Outpatient Surgery

• Two identified healthy adult primary caregivers will be permitted per patient having surgery in the Main Operating Room and East Operating Rooms. These caregivers may be in the surgical waiting room and pre-op areas.
• One identified healthy adult primary caregiver will be permitted per patient in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit or recovery area) due to space limitations.
• No siblings or additional visitors at this time.

Emergency Department and Urgent Care

• Two identified healthy adult primary caregivers will be permitted per patient in the Emergency Department and Urgent Care settings.
• Caregivers with symptoms will be allowed to accompany patients if no other healthy caregiver is available. Masks and physical distancing will be required.
• No siblings or additional visitors at this time.

Ambulatory Clinics and Radiology

• Two identified healthy adult primary caregivers will be permitted per patient in the Radiology and Ambulatory Clinic settings.
• Caregivers with respiratory or COVID-19 symptoms are advised not to accompany patients for routine ambulatory clinic and radiology visits.
• No siblings or additional visitors at this time.

Patient and visitor screening: We screen every patient and caregiver who comes to our hospital and clinics for fever and cold or flu-like symptoms.

Staff guidelines: All Phoenix Children’s providers and staff are in compliance with our COVID-19 vaccination program, and we wear masks or face coverings on campus.

Universal masking: The CDC requires visitors, patients, providers and staff to wear a mask or face covering in our health care settings. This requirement includes fully vaccinated individuals. So, please wear a mask to help keep us all healthy.

Enhanced cleaning: We have implemented enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures in patient rooms, operating rooms, clinics and common areas.

Staggered patient visits: We are staggering our patient visits and treatment schedules to minimize the number of people in our hospital and clinics at any given time.

Physical distancing: We have rearranged high-traffic areas and placed clear physical barriers in common areas throughout our hospital and clinics to make it easy to maintain a 6-foot distance from others.

Schedule an Appointment

Specialty care: If your child missed a specialist appointment or procedure, call 602-933-KIDS (5437) to connect with your provider and determine next steps.

Primary care: If your child missed an annual check-up or vaccination, or needs a sick visit, please schedule an appointment with a Phoenix Children’s Pediatrics provider near you.

Telehealth: When appropriate, our caregivers are treating patients via telehealth. Your child’s health care team will determine if a virtual or in-person visit is best.

Why are we taking such precautions?

For some children, COVID-19 is a mild illness. However, the virus can be much more serious for others, including the children we care for who are medically complex. 

It takes more than hand washing. Good hand hygiene is our first order of defense against COVID-19 and other illnesses – but it’s not our only defense. Other precautions – like symptom screening, masking and reducing the number of people in our hospitals and clinics – improve our ability to protect medically fragile children who are at higher risk for the disease.