Visiting Hours and Guidelines

COVID-19 Update: Modified Visitor Restrictions as of 4/3/23

Visiting your friends and family in the hospital 

Visitors can be good medicine for patients in the hospital. But there are times when patient visitation is restricted due to patient safety and quality of care. 


General hospital visiting times are 8 am - 8:30 pm, but may vary on specialized units. If a patient needs to see visitors at other times, arrangements can be made with the charge nurse. If a patient has a restriction related to visitation hours, the nursing team will let the patient or their support person know.

Masking protocols and general guidelines for visitors

The new changes in the state of California guidelines allow health care systems to customize mask protocols in their environments. Scripps Health has always followed a higher standard to help further protect the health and safety of our staff, patients and visitors and, as such, we will continue to require medical grade masks in some specific areas and circumstances.


  • Currently, staff, patients and visitors at Scripps are required to wear medical grade masks in direct patient care areas, but masks will no longer be required in non-clinical buildings or in most general areas of our hospitals, clinics and other clinical buildings.
  • Medical grade masks are also highly recommended for staff, patients and visitors when in confined or crowded areas like elevators, waiting rooms, meeting rooms and break rooms.
  • If you do not have a medical grade mask and need one, please ask a staff member to provide one for you. Cloth masks, gaiters and masks with small plastic valves embedded in the front will not be permitted. 
  • Visitors who are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell, should not visit.
  • To allow patients plenty of rest, visitors are restricted to two people at a time in a hospital room, unless otherwise approved by specialized units. Visitors may need to be staggered in double patient rooms, based on certain circumstances. Only one visitor / support person will be allowed at any given time for patients undergoing inpatient or outpatient surgical procedures.
  • Children age 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult and must be directly supervised at all times. The patient cannot be considered the supervisor of a child.
  • Children may visit inpatient units, but must be authorized in critical care units on a case by case basis by the unit manager or their designee.
  • Visitor limitations in maternal child health and the blood and marrow transplant unit are based on unit and patient criteria.
  • Only one sibling age 12 and under, accompanied by no more than one adult, may visit a Maternal and Child Health unit at any given time. And, the amount of time a sibling can visit will be limited to allow for patient care, as well as rest for the patient and infant. Visitation may also be subject to certain restrictions based on possible space limitations.  

Visiting COVID positive patients

  • Visitors are permitted to visit with COVID positive patients now, but must follow strict infection control guidelines including the use of a mask with eye protection. Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) may be required if the patient is undergoing certain procedures which may cause a greater risk of disease transmission.
  • For COVID-19 positive patients in Labor & Delivery or the NICU, the support people must stay in the room for the duration of the stay. No in and out privileges.


Please note visitation restrictions may evolve over time depending on our response to public health recommendations. Again, we are doing this to protect the health and safety of our patients, staff, clinicians and community. Thank you for your understanding.

Guidelines for service dogs

As a health care organization, we are dedicated to providing a healthy and safe environment for all who visit our facilities. We understand that service dogs may be required to accompany our patients and visitors. To ensure we are able to maintain health and safety standards for everyone, we ask that you abide by the following guidelines.


We allow only service dogs in our facilities. A service dog is a dog specifically trained to assist a person with a disability.


To confirm your dog is a service dog, you must be able to answer the following two questions:


  • Is the dog required because of a disability?
  • What is the specific work or task the dog has been trained to perform?


For complete guidelines (in English and Spanish), see below or view our Guidelines for Service Dogs (PDF, 72 KB).

Restricted areas

You and your dog are not permitted in areas where we generally do not allow the public, including:


  • Operating rooms or other areas where we perform surgical procedures or treatments
  • Areas where patients await or recover from operations or procedures
  • Areas where isolation precautions or special protective equipment is necessary
  • Food preparation areas
  • Medication preparation and storage areas
  • Clean or sterile supply storage areas
  • Critical or intensive care units and post critical care units
  • Semi-private rooms

Requirements for service dogs

Before arriving


  • Many of our patients have low resistance to infections. Please assure our staff that your dog is free of communicable diseases and fleas to the best of your knowledge.
  • Make arrangements to have your dog fed or watered outside of the Scripps building.
  • Your dog must be housebroken. Prompt cleanup of any bodily excretions is the responsibility of the handler. If your dog urinates, defecates, or vomits while in the facility, notify us immediately so we can provide you with materials for cleanup.
  • Your dog must be under your control at all times and maintained on a harness or leash. If the device interferes with the dog’s work or your disability prevents you from using these devices, you will need to have an alternate means of maintaining control of the dog.


While you are here


  • Your dog must not act in a threatening way. Our security staff may restrict a dog from the facility if it is behaving in an unfriendly or disruptive manner.
  • You must identify an alternate handler who can provide supervision should your care or treatment require separation from your service dog. Our staff cannot supervise or provide care to your service dog, but may assist with contacting an individual or helping you place the dog in a boarding facility if needed.
  • Should your treatment or service require separation from your dog, your nurse will work with you to plan appropriate care and activities to meet your needs.