Non-family hospital visitation in NY (timeline)

Non-family can visit even today. In the early 80s I could visit my sister in traction and any of the other kids on her floor even as a young teen. Even unaccompanied by an adult. I spent a bunch of time in the room next door talking to the girl in full body traction while my parents were at work. I talked to the boy in the next bed who was in for an appendectomy. I was there for the aftermath of the kerfluffle when the toddler in the next room climbed out of his crib and walked out the front door of the hospital. (They tied a net over his crib after that.)

Is your character in the ICU or something? It's only very, very ill people where non-family would be restricted.

My mom has spent loads of time in hospitals the last few years and has several non-family visitors. Don't know about the decision making, though. From my understanding, one would need a POA for a non family member to make decisions for them. You could do an internet search for Power of Attorney NY.

Hopefully someone else will clarify this for you.

Not sure when it began, but non family visitation was allowed in the eighties, even on a pediatric unit.

ICUs were and are stricter, current rules usually dictate no more than 2 visitors allowed, no questions about family or not.

Decision making is a totally separate question. What decisions need to be made? Is the character a legal adult? Married?

Most hospitals have (and have had since I was a kid in the 70s at least) visiting hours where friends as well as family are allowed to come by with flowers etc. Exceptions would be people in critical or intensive care units or people who are in guarded wards because they are considered a risk or because the patient is in some kind of danger (perhaps being stalked) and so visitors have to be screened and monitored more closely. Then, they may restrict visits to immediate family (spouse or legally recognized equivalent as per local laws, parents, siblings etc). Sometimes a patient or a patient's family may request that visitation be limited to certain people or that certain people be barred from visiting.

Most of those cases we hear about now--where unmarried partners of patients are barred from visitation--are either for patients in ICUs, or at the behest of the patient's family. And of course, sometimes there's a nurse or hospital administrator with a bug up their butt and a desire to make life difficult for someone.

If you're speaking of who can make medical decisions when the patient can't I'm pretty sure it was next of kin. So no 'domestic partners'. That was why the law was changed because parents or siblings would sweep in and do stuff against what both the patient and hir partner wanted.

Next of kin can exclude people. I wouldn't have been able to visit even my sister if my parents said no (even if I'd been an adult).

My experience was in the state of Missouri. When I was hospitalized (in the year 2000), I spent a couple of weeks in the ICU.
-I was 17 years old, so as far as decision making, I was considered a minor and all decisions were made by my parents.
-When I was in the ICU, I was limited to two or sometimes three visitors, but one of those "visitors" was always one of my parents. There was a little waiting area outside the ICU. When there was a new visitor, one of the nurses would tell my parents, and they would come "meet" the visitor in that waiting area, then guide him/her back to my room. (Three visitors was usually one of my parents with a husband and wife. Also the nurses could crack down on the visitors anytime they felt the number was becoming a problem.)
-A fair number of those visitors did not come beyond the waiting area. This was not due to any kind of law or rules, but just squeamishness. I was attached to a bunch of tubes and machines, plus needles (IVs, etc.). Also, the ICU was very open, so if they came into the ICU they could not avoid seeing the other ICU patients (who also looked very... sick.)
-Flowers were not allowed in the ICU rooms, but still, plenty of people sent bouquets. The flowers would be placed on the nurses' desk, which was in the center of the ICU, so the nurses and all the patients/visitors could enjoy them.
-In terms of laws, there were no laws prohibiting non-family visitors. The closest relative/decision maker could choose to prohibit visitors in almost any way he/she wanted. I had plenty of non-family visitors (teachers, other students, family friends). My parents would meet the visitors in the waiting area (which, as I understand, was the most common way for families to deal with visitors).

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

ULTRAGOTHA said:

If you're speaking of who can make medical decisions when the patient can't I'm pretty sure it was next of kin. So no 'domestic partners'. That was why the law was changed because parents or siblings would sweep in and do stuff against what both the patient and hir partner wanted.

Next of kin can exclude people. I wouldn't have been able to visit even my sister if my parents said no (even if I'd been an adult).

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I'm pretty sure it was next of kin also, except where contradictory paperwork existed. A Do Not Resuscitate Order from the patient on file with or presented to the hospital or a Durable Power of Attorney naming someone else would have superseded the next of kin. The hospital I had my son in in 2005 recommended everyone have these documents.

Practices varied by hospital for certain wards. We had to leave ID and go one at a time when my cousin had her oldest (September, 2002). Everyone came up, including a three year old, when I had mine in July, 2001. One hospital was clearly more concerned about newborns being kidnapped than the other. These hospitals are in the same county.

ICUs may have varied too.