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Reminder: bring your proof of vaccination to CHEO
• CHEO asks everyone about their vaccination status as part of our entrance screening.
• Please bring a digital or paper copy of your proof of vaccination if you have it, and be prepared to show it along with one piece of ID.

Parent/caregiver presence policy and visitor policy:

When parents and caregivers come with their child or youth to CHEO, they arrive not as visitors, but as part of the care team. They are actively working with us as part of their child’s care team, providing vital health information only they would know and giving emotional support in a way only a parent or caregiver can. For this reason, parents/caregivers will never be separated from their child.

Who is a parent/caregiver or visitor?

Parent/caregiver: Someone who is over 14 years old and helps a child or youth with activities of daily living – e.g. parent, grandparent, older sibling, legal guardian, etc. A parent/caregiver can be designated by a patient. A parent/caregiver is never considered a visitor because they are a vital part of the care team.

Visitor: Someone who is part of a child or youth’s family or support network—e.g. sibling, extended family member, friend, etc.—but not a designated parent/caregiver.

At this time visitors are not permitted. This will help us limit the number of people in the building and ensure the safety of your loved ones. Read the "Entering CHEO" section below to learn more.

CHEO is safe

CHEO remains a safe place for you to come with your child/youth. To make sure we are always putting safety first and minimizing any chance of transmission of infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone who comes to CHEO, including parents and caregivers, is screened before entering, including being asked whether they (or anyone living with them) have travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. Anyone who is sick will not be allowed to enter. Rest assured, if you, as part of the care team, cannot come onsite due to sickness, we will work with you to make sure your child/youth has support.

Make sure to complete our entrance screening before coming to CHEO. For those coming to CHEO for a scheduled appointment please make sure to complete it no sooner than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. Additional safety precautions remain in place – including, physical distancing, masking, and handwashing, to name a few.

Frequently asked questions for parents/caregivers coming to CHEO

I/someone I live with has travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. What can I expect?

If you have an upcoming in-person appointment, please contact your clinical team to make the necessary arrangements for your appointment. These arrangements can include a virtual appointment or rebooking your appointment until 14 days after any international travel.

Will I be asked to show proof of vaccination? 

Yes! Reminder for parents/caregivers: bring your proof of vaccination to CHEO.
  • CHEO asks everyone about their vaccination status as part of our entrance screening.
  • Please bring a digital or paper copy of your proof of vaccination if you have it, and be prepared to show it along with one piece of ID.

I'm an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated parent/caregiver, what can I expect?

For everyone’s safety, we are asking that all parents and caregivers who are able to get vaccinated do so. Parents/caregivers are asked to be vaccinated to protect those they interact with while at CHEO. Those who are currently unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will still be permitted to come to CHEO, with additional safety measures. As important members of our care team, we will never create a barrier for parents/caregivers to accompany their child to CHEO.

What to expect
Ultimately we want everyone who visits CHEO to be fully vaccinated. For the very few who fall into the category of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated, here’s what you can expect:
  • Additional screening questions as part of our entrance screen – please plan to arrive early as you will need to answer a few more questions.
  • You will be escorted to your child/youth’s bedside.
  • You will not be allowed in common spaces such as the cafeteria, coffee shop, or pharmacy — please bring your own snacks and ask your care team how you can get what you need while staying at your child’s bedside.

My child/youth is staying as an inpatient at CHEO. Will I be required to do regular rapid tests?

As an added layer of protection, we are now supplying all parents and caregivers of children and youth in shared rooms with rapid antigen tests. Parents and caregivers who are staying at the bedside of their child or youth at CHEO will be required to test themselves daily for COVID-19.

Parents and caregivers are important members of the care team, and as such we will never create a barrier to them accompanying their child at CHEO. If a parent/caregiver tests positive we will support them with additional safety measures while accompanying their child or youth at CHEO.

Will I be required to wear a face mask while at CHEO? 

Yes! Masks are given to all parents/caregivers and patients at CHEO. Families are welcome to wear a personal KN95 or other mask when coming to CHEO. We will ask you to put the procedural mask we give you on top as we can't quality check everyone's personal mask.

Please wear your assigned mask when:

  • a health-care provider comes into your child’s or youth’s room
  • you go outside of your child’s or youth’s room
  • physical distancing measures cannot be maintained (including shared rooms)

Entering CHEO

Where to enter

All children, youth and parents/caregivers must enter through the main entrance for clinic visits, or the Emergency Department in urgent cases. Other entrances are closed.

Who can enter

To limit the number of people in the building the following rules will apply: 
Clinic/Surgical Day Unit appointment
  • Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO
  • For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted.
Emergency Department visit
  • Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO
  • For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted. For Emergency Department (ED) visits, please discuss your need for an exception on arrival to the ED.
Staying at the hospital
  • TWO designated parents/caregivers are permitted (designated parents/caregivers must be 12 or older).
  • Overnight, only one parent/caregiver is permitted to remain onsite.

Who can't enter

  • As of December 18 and until further notice, visitors are not permitted
  • Parents/caregivers or visitors who do not pass the entrance screening.
  • Siblings younger than 12 are not permitted. We appreciate this requires childcare arrangements for younger siblings and we are grateful for your support in doing so.

Thank you

COVID-19 has created many new rules and safety procedures we all need to follow. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to update our procedures in line with direction from Public Health Ontario. Please be kind to our entrance screeners, staff and medical staff when you meet them. Safety first is our top priority at CHEO.

What to bring

The following information will assist you in preparing for your visit to CHEO.

Health coverage information

Be sure to bring your:

  • provincial health coverage - OHIP card for Ontario residents or RAMQ card for Quebec residents
  • CHEO hospital card (if you have visited CHEO before)
  • private health insurance information (if you have this coverage)

A parent or legal guardian will have to sign the necessary Ministry of Health consent forms for children and youth under 16 years of age.

Personal Health information

Please bring:

  • all your medications and supplements (The health-care team will review them and some may be used during your stay. We will also want to know the time of the last dose.)
  • immunization records
  • details about any known allergies to food or drugs

Items for you

Depending on the length of stay in hospital, you may want to bring:

  • spending money for meals and parking
  • clothes, pyjamas and slippers
  • any special toys or family photos
  • toiletries

Make sure to mark everything with your name.

CHEO mom and blogger, Chloe Girvan, has written a helpful article on what parents should bring with them for a hospital stay. We encourage you to review it.

What to expect while at CHEO

Where will my child or youth be staying?

There are eight inpatient units at CHEO, including Neonatal Intensive Care and Pediatric Intensive Care.

Sometimes a child may be moved within a unit, or moved to a different one, usually because of space pressures. You will be notified in advance if this is to happen.

There are no private rooms, however there are single rooms used for isolation purposes. If your child or youth does not need to be isolated, they will share a room with one or two other children or youth.

Who will be caring for my child or youth?

A whole team of professionals will look after your child or teen when you come to CHEO. Healthcare teams in the hospital are grouped as Patient Service Units (PSUs). These groupings contain inpatient and outpatient teams so that no matter where your child is in terms of their recovery, he/she will remain under the same PSU according to their diagnosis. This organization makes it easier to have continuity in your child's care. The PSU healthcare teams are made up of many different professionals, including doctors, nurses, social workers, and others. Which team members are involved will depend on your child's or family's needs.

How do I inquire about my child or youth?

As a parent and valued member of your child's care team, you may call the hospital any time for updates. The unit where your child is staying can be reached through the hospital switchboard at 613-737-7600, or directly through the unit's phone number.

Shift change is a busy time and outside calls will not be taken between 7:30-8:30 am and 7:30-8:30 pm. We're happy to take your calls at any time, with the exceptions of these indicated times. Information is always readily available through your child's nurse, who can also help you reach any other of the health-care team members caring for your child.

Updates and information will only be supplied to the parent or legal guardian of a child. We would therefore appreciate your asking other family members or friends to check with you, and not the unit, for information. Respecting the privacy of other children, youth and their families is extremely important.

What about visiting?

Reminder: bring your proof of vaccination to CHEO
• CHEO asks everyone about their vaccination status as part of our entrance screening.
• Please bring a digital or paper copy of your proof of vaccination if you have it, and be prepared to show it along with one piece of ID.

Parent/caregiver presence policy and visitor policy:

When parents and caregivers come with their child or youth to CHEO, they arrive not as visitors, but as part of the care team. They are actively working with us as part of their child’s care team, providing vital health information only they would know and giving emotional support in a way only a parent or caregiver can. For this reason, parents/caregivers will never be separated from their child.

Who is a parent/caregiver or visitor?

Parent/caregiver: Someone who is over 14 years old and helps a child or youth with activities of daily living – e.g. parent, grandparent, older sibling, legal guardian, etc. A parent/caregiver can be designated by a patient. A parent/caregiver is never considered a visitor because they are a vital part of the care team.

Visitor: Someone who is part of a child or youth’s family or support network—e.g. sibling, extended family member, friend, etc.—but not a designated parent/caregiver.

At this time visitors are not permitted. This will help us limit the number of people in the building and ensure the safety of your loved ones. Read the "Entering CHEO" section below to learn more.

CHEO is safe

CHEO remains a safe place for you to come with your child/youth. To make sure we are always putting safety first and minimizing any chance of transmission of infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone who comes to CHEO, including parents and caregivers, is screened before entering, including being asked whether they (or anyone living with them) have travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. Anyone who is sick will not be allowed to enter. Rest assured, if you, as part of the care team, cannot come onsite due to sickness, we will work with you to make sure your child/youth has support.

Make sure to complete our entrance screening before coming to CHEO. For those coming to CHEO for a scheduled appointment please make sure to complete it no sooner than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. Additional safety precautions remain in place – including, physical distancing, masking, and handwashing, to name a few.

Frequently asked questions for parents/caregivers coming to CHEO

I/someone I live with has travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. What can I expect?

If you have an upcoming in-person appointment, please contact your clinical team to make the necessary arrangements for your appointment. These arrangements can include a virtual appointment or rebooking your appointment until 14 days after any international travel.

Will I be asked to show proof of vaccination? 

Yes! Reminder for parents/caregivers: bring your proof of vaccination to CHEO.
  • CHEO asks everyone about their vaccination status as part of our entrance screening.
  • Please bring a digital or paper copy of your proof of vaccination if you have it, and be prepared to show it along with one piece of ID.

I'm an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated parent/caregiver, what can I expect?

For everyone’s safety, we are asking that all parents and caregivers who are able to get vaccinated do so. Parents/caregivers are asked to be vaccinated to protect those they interact with while at CHEO. Those who are currently unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will still be permitted to come to CHEO, with additional safety measures. As important members of our care team, we will never create a barrier for parents/caregivers to accompany their child to CHEO.

What to expect
Ultimately we want everyone who visits CHEO to be fully vaccinated. For the very few who fall into the category of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated, here’s what you can expect:
  • Additional screening questions as part of our entrance screen – please plan to arrive early as you will need to answer a few more questions.
  • You will be escorted to your child/youth’s bedside.
  • You will not be allowed in common spaces such as the cafeteria, coffee shop, or pharmacy — please bring your own snacks and ask your care team how you can get what you need while staying at your child’s bedside.

My child/youth is staying as an inpatient at CHEO. Will I be required to do regular rapid tests?

As an added layer of protection, we are now supplying all parents and caregivers of children and youth in shared rooms with rapid antigen tests. Parents and caregivers who are staying at the bedside of their child or youth at CHEO will be required to test themselves daily for COVID-19.

Parents and caregivers are important members of the care team, and as such we will never create a barrier to them accompanying their child at CHEO. If a parent/caregiver tests positive we will support them with additional safety measures while accompanying their child or youth at CHEO.

Will I be required to wear a face mask while at CHEO? 

Yes! Masks are given to all parents/caregivers and patients at CHEO. Families are welcome to wear a personal KN95 or other mask when coming to CHEO. We will ask you to put the procedural mask we give you on top as we can't quality check everyone's personal mask.

Please wear your assigned mask when:

  • a health-care provider comes into your child’s or youth’s room
  • you go outside of your child’s or youth’s room
  • physical distancing measures cannot be maintained (including shared rooms)

Entering CHEO

Where to enter

All children, youth and parents/caregivers must enter through the main entrance for clinic visits, or the Emergency Department in urgent cases. Other entrances are closed.

Who can enter

To limit the number of people in the building the following rules will apply: 
Clinic/Surgical Day Unit appointment
  • Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO
  • For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted.
Emergency Department visit
  • Only ONE parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO
  • For some patients (e.g. persons with disabilities) coming for an appointment in a clinic or the Surgical Day Unit, a second essential support person may be allowed to help patients and care teams. For patients and parents/caregivers who require additional support, please contact your care team to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted. For Emergency Department (ED) visits, please discuss your need for an exception on arrival to the ED.
Staying at the hospital
  • TWO designated parents/caregivers are permitted (designated parents/caregivers must be 12 or older).
  • Overnight, only one parent/caregiver is permitted to remain onsite.

Who can't enter

  • As of December 18 and until further notice, visitors are not permitted
  • Parents/caregivers or visitors who do not pass the entrance screening.
  • Siblings younger than 12 are not permitted. We appreciate this requires childcare arrangements for younger siblings and we are grateful for your support in doing so.

Thank you

COVID-19 has created many new rules and safety procedures we all need to follow. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to update our procedures in line with direction from Public Health Ontario. Please be kind to our entrance screeners, staff and medical staff when you meet them. Safety first is our top priority at CHEO.

Caregiver screening

Everyone is carefully screened when they come to CHEO — this includes all children, youth, caregivers, staff and medical staff.

You can complete your self-screen online before coming to CHEO. This will make it easier and quicker to get to your families appointment or visit your child who is staying as an inpatient. Once you complete the screening, follow the instructions that will be sent to you by email. You will show your confirmation email to our staff validators at the entrance. 

Learn more about what to expect when you come to CHEO.

Complete your online screen

Head to Toe suicide screening questions

To intervene early with children and youth experiencing suicidal thoughts, CHEO has developed the Head to Toe assessment program. It is now standard practice for all children and youth over the age of 12 to be screened for suicide upon being admitted to CHEO.


Learn more about Head to Toe

What activities are available?

COVID-19: some activities and services are currently unavailable as we work to keep children, youth, families and staff safe during this pandemic. For the most up-to-date information on the services, activities and supports available at CHEO right now visit our COVID-19 page.

  • Child life: child life specialists help children to learn, to play and do creative projects while in hospital. Child life specialists are also trained in medical play, which assists children in understanding their illness, and any anxious feelings they may have relating to it.
  • Activity rooms: there are activity rooms for children on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors where child life specialists and special volunteers are available to provide play and learning materials and supervise activities. The hours of the activity rooms are posted on each activity room's door.
  • Schooling: teachers affiliated with the Ottawa school system are available in the hospital, providing continued schooling to children and youth here for longer stays. Your health-care team will make these arrangements with you and your child or teen.

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