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 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.
It is important to us that your child/youth receives the care that they need. If you require an exception to any of our caregiver/visitor policies to ensure that your child/youth can access care, please contact a member of your care team or reach out to CHEO's Patient Experience team (experience@cheo.on.ca or 613-737-7600 ext. 3078).
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. Learn more about what to expect when you come to CHEO.
Fill out the entrance screening questions no sooner than 48 hours before your scheduled appointment. If you develop new symptoms or have new contacts after completing your entrance screen, please resubmit the form.
Here are some other things you should be aware of:
Allergy alert! |
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| Some of our children, youth and staff have severe allergies, so please remember:
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Preventing the spread of infection |
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| We want to make sure our children and youth get well quickly. Visitors can help us by:
We have increased safety precautions in place during COVID-19. Visit our COVID-19 page to learn more. |
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Searching for restricted items |
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| There are times when we need to check patients for things that could cause harm to themselves or others. We do this when we feel a search is needed, to keep everyone at CHEO safe. Restricted items can be any personal belonging that could harm a patient or someone else. Learn more about a restricted items search. | ||||
Service and emotional support animals |
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| At CHEO, service animals are allowed and, in some instances, emotional-support animals may be able to accompany people to their appointments. If you are a child, youth, caregiver or visitor and have an emotional-support animal that you would like to accompany you to your appointment, please consult with your clinical team before the appointment to confirm whether accommodations can be made for the support animal to visit.
Expected service and emotional-support animal behaviourAny animal onsite must be fully vaccinated, in good health, and must not pose a threat to people or other animals at CHEO. The owner must be fully responsible for the animal at all times. The animal must be kept on a leash or in a cage while onsite. Raw food diet carries risksIf the animal consumes a raw food diet they are not able to come onsite due to the risk of foodborne infection to the pet and to household members. CHEO’s Pet Therapy ProgramCHEO offers therapy dog interventions for clients and patients across CHEO. Both the dog and the handler are identified by CHEO-issued ID badges. Please do not touch or engage with a therapy dog. |
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Smoking on our property |
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| Ontario's hospitals are smoke-free zones — including hospital grounds. Provincial Tobacco Control Officers patrol hospital grounds to ensure the province's no-smoking laws are being followed. Anyone caught smoking on hospital property will be ticketed and could be fined up to $5,000. To smoke, you must leave hospital property. We also ask that you respect others and don't litter. Keep in mind:
If you are ready to quit smoking, the City of Ottawa offers resources to help. |