Visitor Resources

When a friend or loved one is staying at Meade District Hospital, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to have an enjoyable visit with them.

• Visitation Hours

  Official visiting hours are 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM. Family members of patients are welcome to stay as needed or desired by the patient. It is important that visitors respect the patient’s need for rest during recovery. When a particular patient needs extra care, we may set limits on who may visit and for how long. Visitation may be restricted throughout the hospital at certain times such as flu season.

   

• Visitation Guidelines

  • To find a patient’s room assignment, ask someone at the Information Desk in the front lobby or nurses’ station.
  • Always knock and use the sanitizing hand rub before entering the patient’s room.
  • Avoid visiting before 10 am when patients may be busy with daily treatment activities or with their doctors.
  • On weekends, holidays and after 5:30 pm, outside doors are locked and visitors can enter through the ER doors. Visitors can still use the main entrance too by speaking to the Nurse’s Station through the intercom next to the inside front door.
  • Please do not visit if you have a cold or other contagious conditions.
  • For the health and safety of your children, please check with the nurse in charge of the unit before bringing children under 12 years old to the patient care areas of the hospital.

• Animal Visitations

  This information applies to all ADA service animals, volunteer therapeutic visitation dogs and personal pets brought onto any AVHS facility, including physician offices and clinics.

  The following information and procedures are to promote the physical and mental health of our patients with accommodation of service animals, volunteer dog visitations, and personal pet visitation. Our goal is to provide a safe environment, that provides adequate precautions against transmission of infections, reduces unnecessary exposures to allergens and reduces risk of adverse encounters of animals with patient, visitors and staff.

  Our facilities accommodate service animals, volunteer dog visitation, and personal pet visitation under the following circumstances. The pet handler is responsible for and in control of the pet at all times while on campus. The handler is responsible for providing water and elimination needs. Only dogs will be allowed in facilities. Exotic pets such as reptiles, birds and non-human primates (monkeys) will not be allowed due to the numerous diseases they can carry. Other animals will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

  Animals are prohibited from the following areas:
  a. Cafeteria (exception: ADA Service Dogs)
  b. Isolation room
  c. Food preparation, storage and laundry areas
  d. Drug preparation areas, sterile/clean supply room
  e. Linen storage and laundry areas
  f. Areas where soiled/contaminated materials are stored
  g. Surgical/procedure areas
  h. Diagnostic and treatment areas, e.g., lab, x-ray, outpatient areas, etc. (exception ADA Service Dogs)

   

  ADA Service Animals:

  Beginning on March 15th, 2011 only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the ADA. A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or mental disability.

  Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

  The owner of the service animal may be asked to remove his or her animal from the premises if the dog is out of control and the handler does not take affective action to control it or the dog is not housebroken.

   

  Volunteer Therapeutic Visitation Dogs:

  The following will need to be confirmed prior to the volunteer therapeutic visitation dog serving.
  a. The dog has been certified (registered) by a nationally recognized volunteer therapeutic visitation dog program or the facilities own behavioral testing conducted by an independent State of Kansas licensed veterinarian.
  b. The handler of the dog has been accepted as a volunteer for the facility.
  c. All dogs proposed as participants in the program will be screened for health, required vaccinations and behavior.
  d. Each volunteer therapeutic visitation dog must have a veterinarian-clinic-patient relationship with a doctor who is currently licensed in the States of Kansas.
  e. The facility has on file individual records for the volunteer therapeutic visitation dog, which include all documentation for certification, behavioral testing and vaccinations.
  f. While Visiting Patient’s Rooms:

  i. Handlers will be responsible to keep the scheduled assigned hours.
  ii. Check in at the nurse’s station for information on patients who should not be visited, or for those with specific needs.
  iii. Respect all assigns of patients in isolation. Do not visit these rooms for the protection of the animal and the patient.
  iv. Knock before entering any room. Hear an invitation to enter before going in. Introduce yourself and the volunteer therapeutic visitation dog.
  v. Report any problems resulting from the visit to the nursing staff. Notify the Infection Control Director or the Administrator of the facility in his/her absence for further instructions.

  AVHS Therapy Dog Visitation Forms

   

  Personal Pet Visitations:

  Personal pet visitation is a source of comfort to patients and will be permitted using the following guidelines.
  a. Approved personal pets are allowed to visit at the discretion of the care provider team which includes but not limited to the attending Physician, the assigned nursing staff which includes Infection Control as appropriate.
  b. Visits are limited to the patient’s room only. The handler will allow the animal to interact only with the patient.
  c. Pets should be freshly bathed and in a pet carrier or under control of the handler.
  d. If a private room is not available, and there is another patient in the room, the roommate must consent to the visit.
  e. Pet handler may be asked to remove animal at any time or limit visits if the nursing staff deems necessary.
  f. Caution must be used to make sure the animal does not lick or come in contact with the patient’s non-intact skin (surgical sites, drainage tubes, wounds).

  Approval for Animal Visitation Form

   

  PROCEDURE FOR ALL ANIMAL VISITS:

  a. Contact the Infection Control Manager or the Administrator in his/her absence before animals enter the premises.
  b. The handler will make sure that before the visit:

  a. The animal should have been bathed within the past 22 hours and is completely dry.
  b. The handler should be able to provide the animal’s proof of vaccination on request.

  c. The handler is responsible for cleaning up any elimination mishaps the dog has while on AVHS property, inside or out. Use baggies when outside or gloves to pick up stool and tie off glove or bag and dispose in an outdoor waste receptacle.
  d. Use caution for patients who have wounds and dermatitis when having contact with an animal.
  e. If allowed in the bed, place a barrier between the patient’s linen and the animal’s coat.
  f. Never leave animal alone with the patient.
  g. Do not permit animal to come in contact with another patient or staff member without that person’s permission.
  h. Practice appropriate hand hygiene after handling animal. Wash hands with soap and water if appropriate.
  i. In case of an incident (animal bite, scratch, etc.), notify the healthcare staff to include the Administrator and Infection Control.

   

  DEFINITIONS:
  1. Service Animal: Dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medication, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support DO NOT qualify as service animals under the ADA. This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act. Some State and local laws can be obtained from the State Attorney General’s office.
  2. Therapeutic Visitation Dog: These dogs are household pets whose handlers take time to visit hospitals. Nursing homes, detention facilities, and rehabilitation facilities. Visitation dogs help people who have to be away from home due to mental or physical illness or court order. These people miss their pets, and a visit from a visitation dog can brighten the day, lift spirits, and help motivate them in their therapy or treatment with the goal of going home to see their own pets.
  3. Personal Pet: A patient’s personal pet.

   

  REFERENCES AND SOURCES OF EVIDENCE:
  1. American Disabilities action of 1990 – 222.aqda.gov
  2. ADA 2010, Revised Requirements: Service Animals. http://www.ads.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
  3. APIC Text of Infection Control and Epidemiology, 4th edition.
  4. Guidelines for Environmental Infection control in Health Care Facilities, Recommendations of CDC and the Healthcare Infection control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC)- US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC 2003.
  5. www.therapydogs.org/library/articles/119
  6. The Joint Commission
  7. Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services
  8. www.kdheks.gov/bhfr/download/Hospital Regulations Nov2001pdf

• Waiting Rooms

  Family members may utilize waiting areas to allow the patient time for rest or to give caregivers a break from caregiving. These are located in the front lobby, outpatient areas south hall and emergency north of nursing station. There are also park benches located outside west of the main entrance.

  Vending machines are located off the front lobby where you can purchase drinks or snack items. The cafeteria is located in the far south east corner of the hospital.

• Cafeteria and Vending

  The MDH Nutritional Services team invites you to come in and dine with us!

  Our cafeteria offers a wide variety of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  Breakfast hours: 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM priced per item

  Lunch Hours:    11:30 AM – 1:00 PM $6.00 meal

  Dinner Hours:   5:30 PM – 6:30 PM $6.00 meal

  Coffee and tea are always available in the cafeteria.

  Our vending machines are located just off the front lobby and include a selection of soft drinks and snacks.

• Wifi

  Signal: mdhguest

  No password is necessary