The kids are all right: Hospital lifts ban on child visitors

Press release

Due to a sustained decrease in H1N1 flu activity in our community over the last three weeks, PeaceHealth Oregon Region is lifting the temporary visitor restrictions put in place on Oct. 29 that prevented children 12 and under from visiting patients at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and University District, as well as Cottage Grove Community Hospital.

Effective Nov. 20, the restrictions are lifted in all areas of the hospitals except for the following units at RiverBend: Labor & Delivery, Mother/Baby, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). To ensure the safety of patient populations most at risk of complications from H1N1, visitors to these units are restricted to two adult support people. No other visitors will be allowed to enter. The patient's two support people must be healthy and not showing any symptoms of flu, which include a fever greater than 100 degrees plus one of the following: headache, body aches, cough, sore throat or nasal congestion.
 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified members of the patient population that is cared for in Labor & Delivery, Mother/Baby and the NICU as being at higher risk of severe complications, including death, if exposed to the flu.

Even though the hospitalwide restrictions are no longer in effect, PeaceHealth Oregon Region asks parents not to bring sick children to the hospital unless they are coming to the hospital for treatment.

The temporary policy was based on infection control practices and evidence-based medicine in the interest of protecting the public, hospital staff, and medically at-risk populations from becoming ill with the H1N1 influenza virus. Limiting the number of visitors - particularly children - was necessary to reduce the risk of illness for our patients. Children are more likely to contract and spread the H1N1 virus. Note: the restriction did not apply to patients 12 and under who came to the hospitals for medical care.

PeaceHealth will continue to monitor the number of H1N1 cases in the community and will adjust its visitor restrictions accordingly to ensure the safety of its inpatient population. Families are encouraged to visit www.peacehealth.org/shmc  for updates to the visitor policy.