Behavioral Health Inpatient Policies
Patient searches
Safety scans
Visitation privileges
Patient searches
The Patient Searches Policy offers a consistent, standardized process for searching patients, belongings and personal room spaces. All patients admitted to the Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit and the Inpatient Withdrawal Unit will be searched to keep patients and staff safe from harm to self or others.
BCH staff will also perform searches throughout a patient’s stay on the Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit and when aseclusion/restraint episode occurs to ensure patient, staff and unit safety. The search procedure will be conducted as soon as possible to mitigate potential safety risks.
Potentially dangerous items
Any items that are glass, metal or sharp are considered potentially dangerous items (PDIs). The following are additional types of items determined to be potentially dangerous. These items are not allowed on the unit and will be inventoried by staff, documented in patient’s electronic health record (EHR) and stored in the patient’s locker.
What not to bring
- Weapons, sharps and toxic or flammable items
- Jewelry and personal clothing such as belts, suspenders, large buckles, bandanas/scarves, wraps, panty hose or steel toe, heavy-heeled boots or shoes
- Personal hygiene items such as bobby pins, barrettes, metal nail files, clippers, scissors and tweezers, or safety pins
- Linens from home or other facilities such as blankets/bedsheets, pillows or stuffed animals
- Medical equipment and medications such as ACE bandages or drug paraphernalia
- Books, religious items and leisure objects such as spiral notebooks, pencil sharpeners or paper clips/staples
- Electronics and electric appliances (especially those with batteries and cords)
- Food and beverages
Safety scans
A Safety Scanning Procedure Policy is in effect to scan a patient via a hand-held metal detector for any unknown objects.
All patients on a M1 hold, both being transferred from Foothills Hospital’s Emergency Department to other BCH Units or to the Behavioral Health Unit at Della Cava Family Medical Pavilion, will be scanned. This also applies to voluntary patients being transferred from Foothills Hospital’s Emergency Department to the Behavioral Health Unit at Della Cava Family Medical Pavilion.
If a patient is transferred from another facility to BCH’s Behavioral Health Unit, a security officer will scan the patient as part of the unit’s intake process.
Visitation privileges
- Visitors must be 12 years of age and older and supervised at all times.
- Visitors will be taken onto the unit at the top of the visiting time hour and 30-minute increments.
- Inpatient unit policy limits the number of visitors for each patient to two individuals at a time.
- Visitors will be screened and logged by inpatient unit staff for potentially dangerous items.
Visitation hours
- Monday-Friday: 5-6 p.m.
- Saturday & Sunday: 1-2 p.m.
Patients can reserve the right to decline visitors. Staff will check with each patient prior to allowing visitation.