Patient and Visitor Code of Conduct

BJC HealthCare is committed to providing extraordinary care to our patients and families while we maintain a safe, healing, and respectful environment for everyone at our facilities, including our staff.  Our Patient and Visitor Code of Conduct sets clear expectations for all to help us meet this goal.

We ask our patients and visitors to help us provide a safe and healing place of care by being:

• Kind.

• Respectful.

• Polite.

• Considerate.

• Aware of personal space.

• Cooperative with our care teams and staff.

The following harmful behaviors will not be tolerated:

• Physical assault. 

• Intimidation.

• Physical or verbal threats.

• Harassment, including photographing staff or other patients and visitors without their consent.

• Verbal aggression, including yelling or other actions which disrupt the care and treatment of our patients.

• Use of inappropriate language, including profanity, sexual, vulgar, or rude language.

• Possession of firearms or any weapon on our premises.

• Using or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol (with exceptions for those patients requesting or undergoing treatment).

• Offensive comments about race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or personal traits, or the refusal to see a clinician or associate based on these traits.

If there are concerns you have violated the Code of Conduct, you will be given the chance to explain your point of view or actions, so long as doing so doesn’t further endanger other patients, visitors, or staff.

If these guidelines are not followed:

• Patients: You may be asked to leave and make other plans for your non-emergent care needs. If you are not yet stable/medically cleared for discharge, the leadership team will coordinate a plan with your care team to prevent escalation of harmful behaviors until you are ready to be discharged. Repeated violations of the Code of Conduct may lead to review of your status as a patient for non-emergency care.

• Visitors: If you fail to comply with the above expectations, you may be asked to leave the premises, and may be restricted from future visitation privileges.

If you witness or are the target of any of these behaviors, please report it to a member of your care team. BJC will support staff who want to report instances of workplace violence that they experienced due to a patient or visitor to local law enforcement.