Policy put in place for patient safety
Bloomington, Ind. (October 20, 2009) – Beginning Thursday (10/22), Bloomington Hospital will implement a temporary visitor restriction policy due to the increasing number of flu-like illnesses in the community.
Bloomington Hospital will restrict patients to having two healthy adult (18 years or older) visitors at a time. Healthy adult means those not experiencing any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, tiredness, body aches, diarrhea or vomiting, and those who have not been exposed to the flu virus in the last week.
This policy is temporary, but will be in place throughout flu season.
“The health and safety of our patients, employees, providers and volunteers is of highest priority. Because of the increasing number of flu cases we’re seeing in the community, we believe now is the right time to begin restricting visitors to proactively help stop the spread of the virus,” says Amanda Roach, spokesperson at Bloomington Hospital.
While the number of hospitalizations for the flu have been low in Monroe County compared to other locations in Indiana, the time to act is before the situation becomes a crisis. Since the beginning of September, Bloomington Hospital has admitted seven patients with a diagnosis of flu. In addition, its Emergency Department is seeing more and more patients each day with flu symptoms.
“The weeks of September 20 and September 27, about 12 percent of the patients coming into our Emergency Department were there because of flu-like symptoms,” says Roach. “The week of October 4, this jumped to 19 percent, and last week (the week of October 11), the number was 21 percent.”
Roach asks for the cooperation of the community following the visitor restriction policy and in screening yourself for the flu before visiting the hospital.
“If you have flu symptoms, please stay home. You can keep your loved one in the hospital safe and not spread the flu virus to others by isolating yourself at home if you’re sick,” says Roach. “You can keep in touch with your hospitalized loved one in ways other than seeing them in person. Telephone calls, texting, e-mail, social networking sites and sending cards all show you care and are thinking about the person.”
The flu virus is spread when droplets from coughs or sneezes come into contact with another person’s eyes, mouth or nose. For mild flu, it is best to stay home and treat symptoms with rest and a fever-reducing medication like Tylenol. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends people ill with the flu stay home and stay away from others until they are fever-free for 24 hours without taking a fever-reducing medication.
If you’re at high risk for flu complications, see your primary care physician. Emergency medical help may be needed if you have the flu and experience additional symptoms such as difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen; sudden dizziness; confusion; severe or persistent vomiting; or flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and worse cough.
For more information about the flu, please visit bloomingtonhospital.org/flu.
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Bloomington Hospital has been innovative in providing quality care to south central Indiana communities for more than a century. Offering a comprehensive continuum of care, Bloomington Hospital is a not-for-profit organization and has a patient base of 413,000 in 10 counties (Brown, Daviess, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Orange and Owen.) Bloomington Hospital currently operates two hospital campuses (Bloomington and Orange County) with regional specialty offerings for Heart and Vascular, Behavioral Health, Cancer, Women and Children, Neurology and Orthopedic services. As a leading hospital in Indiana, Bloomington Hospital enhances health by advancing the art and science of medicine through the use of new technologies, procedures and care.