GUIDE TO BEING A SAFE VISITOR
Help Prevent Infections
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Last Updated: January 10, 2025
What is a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?
What is a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?
- The term “healthcare-associated infection” (HAI) refers to an infection that a patient gets while they are in the hospital.
- More than 680,000 HAIs occur every year. One in 31 hospitalized patients has an HAI at any given time. HAIs harm patients, lead to worse outcomes, and increase healthcare costs.
- HAIs are preventable when healthcare professionals, visitors, and patients work together to stop germs from spreading.
Visitor Prompts
Steps to Protect Patients and You
Steps to Protect Patients and You
Consider what germs you might be carrying with you:
- Do not visit if you have symptoms of an infection.
- The hospital may require that you wear a face mask. Even if the hospital does not require that you wear a mask, you may consider wearing one to protect yourself and others.
- If you intend to bring a gift to the person you are visiting, before you arrive check what is allowed. Some hospitals or units in the hospital do not allow fresh flowers, balloons, fruit baskets, stuffed animals, or other items because of the potential for allergens, mold, or water-borne germs.
Practice good hand hygiene:
- Hands are the most common way disease spreads in the hospital. Everyone in the hospital, including patients and their visitors, should clean their hands frequently.
- Most of the time, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer to clean your hands. Hand sanitizer comes in liquid, gel, or foam and is available from dispensers throughout the hospital.
- Clean your hands before entering and after exiting a patient’s room.
- Clean your hands before interacting with food or drinks.
- Wash hands with soap and water when they are visibly dirty and after using the bathroom.
- After the patient has returned home, continue to clean your hands frequently when you are near them.
Practice good respiratory hygiene:
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- Dispose of tissues in a trash receptacle.
- Clean your hands after sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose.
Common HAIs and How You Can Help to Prevent Them
Common HAIs and How You Can Help to Prevent Them
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)
- An indwelling urinary catheter is a tube inserted into the patient’s bladder to collect urine. It can cause a urinary tract infection called a catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI).
- As a visitor, follow the Steps to Protect Patients and You, and avoid the catheter tubing.
Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)
- A central line or intravenous catheter (IV) is a small tube placed in a vein in the neck, chest, arm, or groin. It can cause a bloodstream infection called central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI).
- As a visitor, follow the Steps to Protect Patients and You, and avoid the catheter tubing.
Pneumonia
- A ventilator is a machine that helps a patient breathe by giving oxygen through a tube placed in their mouth, nose, or a hole in the front of their neck. A ventilator can cause pneumonia called ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
- Lung infections also can occur in hospitalized patients that do not have a ventilator.
- As a visitor, follow the Steps to Protect Patients and You, and take care to avoid cords and tubing around the patient.
Surgical Site Infection (SSI)
- A surgical site infection (SSI) is an infection that occurs after surgery, usually in the part of the body where the surgery took place.
- As a visitor, follow the Steps to Protect Patients and You, and:
- Do not touch the surgical wound or dressing. Only healthcare professionals should touch the surgical wound or dressing while the patient is in the hospital.
- After they return home, the patient will have specific instructions for care of their wound. Visitors of patients at home should not touch the wound or dressing, unless they are involved in the care of the patient and they have received training from the patient’s healthcare team to be involved in the care of the patient.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- Staphylococcus aureus or “staph” can infect wounds in the skin, cause pneumonia, or cause infections of the blood.
- MRSA is a type of staph that cannot be killed by some of the antibiotics used to treat staph infections.
- People commonly carry MRSA on their skin or in their nose without developing an infection. The chance of getting an MRSA infection from visiting a person who has MRSA is low. Still, MRSA can spread on equipment, room surfaces, and on the hands of healthcare professionals and visitors. Visitors should follow instructions carefully when they are visiting a patient who has an MRSA infection.
- As a visitor, follow the Steps to Protect Patients and Yourself. You may be asked to wear a disposable gown and gloves during your visit. Before and after you use gloves, wash your hands with soap and water. Requirements for wearing gowns and gloves may vary by facility.
Clostridioides difficile (C. diff)
- Clostridioides difficile or “C. diff” (pronounced See-dif) is a germ that can cause severe diarrhea. Most cases of C. diff infection occur in patients who are taking antibiotics. While anyone can get C. diff, people who were recently in the hospital have the highest risk. C. diff can live outside the human body for a long time, in the bathroom, on equipment, on other surfaces, and on hands.
- As a visitor, follow the Steps to Protect Patients and Yourself. You may be asked to wear a disposable gown and gloves during your visit. Before and after you use gloves, wash your hands with soap and water. Requirements for wearing gowns and gloves may vary by facility.
Pediatric Patients
Pediatric Patients
- Some pediatric patients – especially pre-term newborns – can get sick very easily. Caregivers and visitors should be up-to-date with their vaccines, meaning that they have gotten the vaccines recommended for them. Vaccinated caregivers and visitors protect vulnerable patients by “cocooning” them with their protection.
- Pediatric patients may not be able to follow instructions consistently. Caregivers may need to help them with the steps in this guide and any special instructions from the healthcare team.
Abbreviations
- C. diff: Clostridioides Difficile
- CAUTI: Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection
- CLABSI: Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infection
- HAI: Healthcare-associated Infection
- MRSA: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
- SSI: Surgical Site Infection
- VAP: Ventilator-associated Pneumonia
Source Citation
Trivedi, K., Schaffzin, J., Deloney, V., Aureden, K., Carrico, R., Garcia-Houchins, S., . . . Berenholtz, S. (2023). Implementing strategies to prevent infections in acute-care settings. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 1-15. doi:10.1017/ice.2023.103
Expert Authors/Reviewers
Source
Yokoe DS, Advani SD, Anderson DJ, et al. Introduction to A Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections In Acute-Care Hospitals: 2022 Updates. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 2023;44(10):1533-1539. doi:10.1017/ice.2023.158
Acknowledgment
SHEA thanks the members of the 2024-2025 SHEA Guidelines Committee for helping to author and review this guide.
Disclaimer
This resource is for informational purposes only, intended as a quick-reference tool based on the cited source guideline(s), and should not be used as a substitute for the independent professional judgment of healthcare providers. Practice guidelines are unable to account for every individual variation among patients or take the place of clinician judgment, and the ultimate decision concerning the propriety of any course of conduct must be made by healthcare providers after consideration of each individual patient situation. Guideline Central does not endorse any specific guideline(s) or guideline recommendations and has not independently verified the accuracy hereof. Any use of this resource or any other Guideline Central resources is strictly voluntary.