Visiting a Patient at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital

About our visitation policy

Inova offers open visiting hours to its patients, meaning there are no specific times family and friends can visit. Our patient-centered philosophy states that the patient determines who visits and when they visit. We believe surrounding our patients with the people who matter most is important to the healing process. 

Patient Care Companion (PCC)

The Patient Care Companion (PCC) Program offers patients the opportunity to welcome family, friends and loved ones more fully into the patients care. Patients may choose one or two adult PCCs to act in a supportive role during hospitalization. The ability to have a familiar person during this time helps the patient feel more comfortable and may help accelerate the healing process.

The PCC can be a spouse, fiancé, domestic partner, parent, adult sibling, adult child, other relative or friend. The PCC is not considered a visitor and has round-the-clock access to the patient and the hospital. Only one of the PCCs is allowed to stay in the patient’s hospital room overnight. Both are allowed at all other times.

Children visiting a patient

Children are welcome to visit an inpatient unit, excluding Family Centered Care, if they are healthy and supervised at all times by an adult other than the patient. Some exceptions may apply depending on the patient’s condition.

Visiting a patient during overnight hours

Visitors who arrive between the hours of 8 p.m. - 5 a.m. will need to register with Security and provide photo identification for a visitor’s badge. Please know that our #1 priority is care and safety of our patients. There may be times when our security team may ask visitors to present their photo ID, outside of these hours. 

• At Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, the Emergency Department (or Green Entrance) is the entrance point for all visitors during these overnight hours

Please note: Overnight guests will not be permitted in semi-private rooms. Exceptions will be considered in certain situations. Please speak to a member of your care team.

Visitor hand hygiene routine

To keep our patients safe and to prevent the spread of infections, we require our staff and visitors to practice good hand hygiene. When visiting, please wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before entering and upon exiting the patient’s room. Additionally, if you are ill please wait until you are well before coming to visit. The health of all patients and visitors is our top priority. 

Additional visitation guidelines

Even with an open visitation policy, there are times when visitors may be asked to step out of the room so private care can be provided. In addition, if the patient you are visiting has a roommate, there may be times when the roommate requests privacy and all visitors may need to leave the room. Your cooperation during these momentary visitation interruptions is appreciated.

A few visitation guidelines for specific hospital units are outlined below.

Critical Care

• The healthcare team may have special requests for visitation limitations when the patient is unstable, is having a procedure or requires a limited number of visitors because of the severity of illness

Rehabilitation and Behavioral Health units

• Before visiting a patient in either the Rehabilitation Unit or the Behavioral Health Unit, please check in with the nursing staff. Occasionally, visitation might be limited to avoid excess patient stimulation or to avoid a conflict with a scheduled therapy session.

Oncology

• The healthcare team may have special requests for visitation limitations if the patient is unstable, is having a procedure or necessitates a limited number of visitors due to the severity of illness
• Children under 12 should not visit neutropenic, leukemia or bone marrow transplant patients due to protective isolation requirements
• Please do not bring fresh flowers or live plants to an oncology patient's room