Safely Caring for You | Riley Children's Health

The Riley Safe Care Pledge

Universal Mask Mandate: All team members will wear masks at every Riley Children’s Health care facility. Patients and caregivers will be required to wear masks also, provided at no cost. You can read our full mask policy below.
Limited Waiting Room Time: We are working hard to significantly decrease (or even eliminate) the time you spend in waiting rooms.
Social Distancing Priority: We support social distancing guidelines by visibly displaying six-foot distances and re-configuring spaces in each of our facilities wherever possible.
Continual Disinfecting: We are enhancing our disinfecting procedures so that spaces remain thoroughly clean throughout the day.
Visiting Guidelines: We ask that only one parent/guardian, and no siblings, accompany a child to their appointment to minimize the amount of people in our offices. For those patients who are staying overnight, patients may only have one visitor (a legal guardian) in the building at a time with a few exceptions. You can read our full visitor restriction policy below.

Mask Policy

Our masking procedures and requirements have been updated per CDC recommendations in all facilities to further prevent COVID-19 transmission from those who may be infected, whether or not they are showing symptoms. These policies reflect the latest information and the current status of supplies available.

Everyone entering a Riley Children’s Health or IU Health facility, both inpatient and outpatient, will be required to wear a medical-grade surgical or isolation mask. This includes visitors, patients and team members. Masks are available at public entrances from guest relations.
All patients should wear a mask while in our facilities except when in their room.
All new patients and visitors will continue to be screened for symptoms when entering our facilities, and will be provided a mask to wear. If symptomatic and a parent/guardian of a pediatric patient, the parent/guardian may be masked and continue to their destination, or asked to reschedule their visit, depending upon the urgency of the appointment and patient care required.
Please remember, children younger than 2 should NOT be masked. Learn more from Pediatric Hospitalist Dr. Emily Scott on alternative options.
Homemade cloth masks are no longer allowed.

Visiting Guidelines

Riley Children’s Health has enhanced visitor guidelines to minimize the traffic within our buildings, and keep patients, families and team members safe.

Inpatient Stays: For those patients who are staying overnight, patients may only have one visitor (a legal guardian) in the building at a time with a few exceptions:

Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) at Riley Hospital and IU Health Methodist Hospital – up to two visitors are welcome to visit a patient at a time
Inpatients with longer-term stays at Riley Hospital – one visitor at a time of the two designated; they may switch out every 24 hours, with the switch occurring outside the hospital
End of life situations
Educational situations, where a parent/guardian is learning how to care for their child

Additionally:

Patients may not go off their units except for testing.
Visits to the Child Life Zone at our main campus downtown have been stopped until further notice; child life activities are performed at bedside or virtually

Physician office appointments: Only one parent/guardian, and no siblings, should accompany a child to their appointment to minimize the amount of people in our offices. An exception is pediatric primary care appointments for newborns in Riley primary care offices in Indianapolis, which are allowed two parents at each appointment. Special circumstances should be discussed with your child’s care team prior to arrival.

Surgeries: For patients having surgery at Riley Hospital, where there is ample space for social distancing in the large waiting area, patients may have two visitors (parents or legal guardians) in the building while undergoing surgery. Post-surgery, one parent/guardian must leave after the patient is settled into their care environment.

The above restrictions apply at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Riley at IU Health North and Riley Maternity & Newborn Health at IU Health Methodist Hospital.

Getting the Care Your Child Needs, Safely

Primary & Specialty Care

While many of our primary and specialty care locations closed for in-person appointments during the initial COVID-19 crisis, we continued to care for patients in need of emergency care and well-child vaccines.

Our primary care offices have started to open more broadly for in-person appointments, including well-child visits for all ages. It’s important to continue with your child’s vaccine schedule to ensure they do not get off track. If your child does not need vaccines, virtual visits remain a great appointment option.

We have begun re-opening our specialty care offices to a small number of non-emergency patients as well. If your child has a specialty care appointment, their doctor will determine the right care setting. This may include either a virtual visit, in-person visit at locations on our main campus or at one of our outreach locations. If your child needs to have tests completed before their appointment, IU Health radiology and blood-draw (Pathology) labs are open.

Scheduled Procedures & Surgeries

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to make the difficult decision to limit non-emergency procedures and surgeries, and to reschedule or transition most in-person appointments. We’re now working hard to get to our “next normal” in a safe environment for our patients, families and team members.

If your child had a procedure or surgery postponed due to COVID-19 and their doctor has decided your child may now safely have the procedure/surgery, you will be contacted by your doctor’s office to reschedule. There are many appointments to be rescheduled, so please don’t worry if you don’t hear from us right away. We appreciate your patience and will be calling soon.

If your child has an upcoming surgery scheduled, rest assured we are taking all necessary precautions and safety measures that are listed in the Riley Safe Care Pledge. We may also test a limited number of patients for COVID-19, depending on the type of surgery/procedure they will have.

Virtual Visits

Virtual visits remain an option for patients to access primary and specialty care from the comfort of their own homes. For each appointment, our team will work with you to determine the best way for your child to safely access care. If you would like to schedule a virtual visit for specialty care, please consult your child's primary care provider for a referral or use our provider directory to find a doctor and their office number to call today.