South Texas Health System observes standard patient visiting hours across its acute care facilities – STHS McAllen, STHS Heart, STHS Edinburg and STHS Children’s – with such restrictions and regulations as deemed necessary to promote quality patient care.

Visiting Hours

  • Visiting hours are from 8 am to 8 pm in all STHS facilities.
  • Visitation will be modified as necessary at the discretion of the charge nurse based on patient condition.
  • Visitors 13 years old and older are welcome to visit patients in general adult and general pediatric inpatient areas. Children and grandchildren – ages 6-13 – of the patient will be accommodated for visitation at the discretion of the charge nurse with appropriateness and patient condition taken into consideration.
  • Children in the 2- to 12-year-old age group are restricted to visitation in the pediatric and women’s departments.

Visitor Registration

All visitors must be issued passes by volunteers/security personnel at the facility’s front desk, or by the charge nurse or house supervisor after hours.

Visitation Regulations

Because visitors may be sources of infection, suitable regulations pertaining to visitors are imperative for the control of nosocomial infections.

  • People with fever, cough, cold, diarrhea, cold sores or any sign of communicable infection are not permitted to visit hospital patients.
  • Visitors are expected to observe and adhere to isolation and standard precautions.
  • Visitors are not to interfere with activities of the professional staff and may be requested to leave the patient’s bedside for care interventions.
  • Quiet must be maintained at all times. For pediatric and nursery visitation, siblings are defined as school age and above and must be under parental supervision at all times.
  • Visitors are not to congregate in patient care areas.
  • Children must always be accompanied by an adult.

Special Visitation Regulations

Special visitation regulations are listed below.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – PICU

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit adheres to the general visitation guidelines with a restriction of visitation limited to two individuals per patient, not including parents.

Nurseries Visitation – NICU, ICN and Newborn

Nurseries visitation accommodates 24-hour visitation for the following: parents/guardians, mother's significant other and grandparents to a maximum of four per patient.

FLU/RSV Season

October-March visitation is limited to the parents/grandparents/arm-banded support person only for the safety of our patients.

Adult Critical Care Units

Two visitors are allowed at one time.

Women’s Services – Labor and Delivery, Antepartum and Post-Partum

In Women’s Services departments visitation accommodates 24-hour visitation for the following: husband, significant other and parents to a maximum of four visitors per patient. Sibling visitation and general family visitation follows the routine visitation of 8 am to 8 pm.

Recovery Room

Visitors are not permitted in the Recovery Room unless special permission has been granted.

Sleeping Accommodations for Immediate Family

South Texas Health System accommodates one member of the immediate family to sleep in the patient’s room under the following circumstances:

  • At the discretion of the charge nurse and/or supervisor
  • Only one person may stay at a time
  • The patient is in a private room

Visitors are discouraged from bringing electrical appliances into the room. Inquiries regarding the uses of these accommodations are referred to the Charge Nurse/Nursing Supervisor prior to any commitment. Sleeping arrangements for other than the above require special approval from the House Supervisor.