Flu restricts some hospital visits

Some Indiana hospitals are making their visitation policies more restrictive in an effort to stem the spread of swine flu.

The Evansville Courier & Press reports that Deaconess and St. Mary’s hospitals in Evansville are asking younger people not to visit the hospitals. Both hospitals are allowing no more than two visitors per patient at a time and are asking people of all ages not to visit if they have flulike symptoms or have been exposed to the flu.

So far, Schneck Medical Center in Seymour and Columbus Regional Hospital in Bartholomew County have not changed their visitation policies, although that could be subject to further review as H1N1 flu makes it way through the community.

“We still monitor it closely, but we’ve not seen the need to change (visitation policies),” Schneck CEO and President Gary Meyer said Sunday afternoon. “Jeannie Berry, our infectious control nurse, is staying abreast of all that.”

Such is the case at Columbus Regional Hospital.

“We have not as of yet,” Pat Murphy, nursing administrative coordinator at CRH, said Sunday afternoon. “We have been busy educating our staff and public about the flu, but we haven’t changed our visitation policy.”

Deaconess public relations director Sam Rogers said the new policy has drawn mixed reactions.

“In any case when you implement a policy like this that’s fairly restrictive, some people understand and some people don’t understand, but it’s just to prevent the spread of H1N1 as much as we can,” Rogers said. “I think you’ll see a bigger issue with maternity, because you’ll have (young) siblings who will want to get in and see mom and the new baby.”

Deaconess’ new policy says that children younger than 17 cannot visit.

St. Mary’s is discouraging visits from those 24 and younger, pregnant women and those with chronic medical conditions. The hospital is also urging parents to leave children at home if they come to the hospital for outpatient appointments.
Hospital spokesman Rick Peltier said the hospital has had to ask some visitors under age 24 to leave.