Your Child’s Daily Care and Services

Bedside report

Bedside report takes place at 7 am and 7 pm daily. At these times, the outgoing nurse will give a report on your child’s condition and care plan to the oncoming nurse. Our goal in conducting bedside report is to improve patient safety and to improve communication between families and care teams. Bedside report includes a brief discussion of why your child is in the hospital, his or her plan of care and goals for the day.

Communication between the patient/family and the health care team is important and we encourage you to listen and/or participate during your child’s bedside report. Please plan to be in your child’s room before these times so that our nurses may focus on your child’s care with minimal distractions. In the NICU, visitation is restricted during bedside report to maintain patient and family confidentiality.

Baths and linen changes

Your child’s nurse and/or care partner will offer your child a daily sponge bath, usually in the morning. Please let us know if you would like to assist with your child’s bath. Showers and bathtubs are available for patients who feel well enough to use them. If your child has a central line or an invasive device, he or she will receive a chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) antisepsis treatment daily to prevent infections, unless such treatment is medically contraindicated. In an attempt to reduce environmental waste, bed linens will only be changed as needed.

Vital signs

Your child’s vital signs (temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pain assessment) are routinely checked every four hours. Occasionally, vital signs may be taken more often. We will try not to disturb your child during the night, although it may be necessary to obtain vital signs when you and/or your child are sleeping.

Measuring intake and output

We need to record everything your child consumes while in the hospital. If you give food or drinks to your child, please keep track and let us know. The doctor may give orders for your child not to eat or drink anything for a period of time (known as NPO). If your child requires anesthesia for a procedure or surgery, he or she may not be able to eat food and/or drink for several hours before the procedure. We also measure your child’s urine and stool outputs. Your nurse will give you a special cover for the toilet (called a “hat”) or a urinal to help collect these measurements. If your child wears a diaper, please keep the dirty diapers and your nurse will weigh them. Many children will be weighed every day, usually in the evening, while others may not need to be weighed as frequently.

Meal service

UCLA is proud to offer healthy gourmet meals to our patients. Dietitians work closely with your child’s doctors and nurses to ensure that your child is receiving his or her optimal nutrition. The meal service team will only deliver food that is approved in your child’s current diet order.

Hotel-style room service is available for pediatric patients and may be ordered from 6:45 am to 7:30 pm. You will receive a special pediatric-friendly menu that complies with the diet ordered by your child’s physician. To order from this menu, there is a signature-dining button on the phone in your child’s room, or you can call (310) 267-9218.