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Last updated on Friday, January 17, 2014
(UNDATED) - Hospitals in the Indiana University Health system are implementing a temporary restricted visitation policy during flu season.
The policy went into effect Tuesday and includes area IU Health facilities in Bedford, Paoli and Bloomington. This effort will limit visitors to the hospitals to protect patients and help prevent the spread of influenza during this severe flu season.
Marketing and Public Relations Manager Amanda Roach is requesting that patients have no more than two healthy adult 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.
St. Vincent Dunn Hospital is taking a wait-and-see approach and had no restrictions at this time.
The IU policy states:
IU Health is also asking families to limit the number of relatives and friends accompanying patients to its emergency departments, outpatient surgery waiting rooms and procedure areas, and primary care and specialist physician offices.
The restrictions vary slightly for the Women's & Children's unit.
"In order to be sensitive to families being cared for in this area. For patients in the hospital's labor and delivery and postpartum units, two healthy adults may visit in addition to the mom's significant other," she said. "Our pediatrics patients may have two healthy adult visitors in addition to the patient's parents/guardians. Patients' siblings under 18 may visit if they're accompanied by a parent or guardian."
The policy is temporary.
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