Waiting Room and Family Rooms

Waiting Room

The waiting room of the Medical-Surgical ICU (MSICU) is supported by volunteers who work 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, and afternoons on weekends and holidays. If you wish to visit a patient, please tell the volunteer on duty who will inform staff of your arrival and coordinate your visit as soon as we are able.

If there is no volunteer on duty, please use the telephone on the wall by the door to notify the MSICU you are here. There is a card by the phone to help you identify which extension to call according to the bed number of the patient (e.g., Bed numbers 1-40). If you are unsure which bed your loved one is in, please call Phone Extension 33361.

MSICU visiting hours are flexible and attempt to balance the care needs of the patients with the schedules of their loved ones. The MSICU is busy in the mornings with rounds, patient care, radiology procedures, etc., and there will likely be delays when trying to visit during this time.  

Shift changes for the bedside nurses occur between 6:30-7:30 a.m. and 6:30-7:30 p.m. We request you do not visit or call during those times. If you are only able to visit during these times, please discuss with the bedside nurse.  

Family Rooms

We have four private family rooms which have been made possible through donations. These rooms are reserved for families of patients who are critically ill and unstable, are imminently dying or have other situations requiring the environment of the family room.  Any access to or request for the family rooms is assessed by our ICU charge nurses and/or the ICU social worker.  

These rooms are in high demand due the constant admissions to MSICU. You may be asked to vacate a family room for a family in a more precarious situation needing privacy.  

These rooms have been decorated through donations by other families who have used these rooms in times of crisis. We insist that families who use these rooms keep them clean of garbage and clutter, and upon leaving the room, ensure it is ready for another family to use immediately.

If you are assigned a family room, the bed number of your loved one will be placed on the door. If you are asked to leave the room for another family, the room number on the door will be changed.