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To the Editor: Every day in ICUs and emergency departments a critically ill or injured patient is wheeled in one direction while frightened family are shuffled away to await word of their loved one’s fate. It is one of the unwritten rules of critical care and emergency medicine that family members are not allowed in the patient’s room during emergency procedures. Clinicians base this rule on traditional concerns that families might lose emotional control or hinder patient care, or that the risk of litigation will increase. Dr Berwick and Ms. Kotagal describe other concerns surrounding restricted visiting in ICUs¹ but do not address prohibition of family presence during resuscitation as the ultimate visitation restriction.

Over the last decade, research on resuscitation has suggested that many families desire to be present, have favorable experiences, and believe their presence is vitally important to the patient and themselves.² The Emergency Nurses Association,³ . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Cathie E. Guzzetta, RN, PhD, HNC
ceguzzett@aol.com
Children’s Medical Center of Dallas
Dallas, Tex

Angela P. Clark, RN, PhD, CS
School of Nursing
University of Texas at Austin

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