Flu cases are on the rise across the country, and experts predict another bad season. To guard against spread, some Indiana hospitals are limiting who can visit, where and how often.
In Marion County, IU Health is limiting visitors at certain locations. Children and people with COVID or flu-like symptoms are no longer permitted to visit patients at the affected locations.
Melissa McMasters is the administrator of the Immunization and Infectious Disease Program at the Marion County Public Health Department. She said this is a patient safety initiative.
“So that you're not making people that are sick even sicker when they're in the hospital by introducing them to flu,” McMasters said.
Individual healthcare facilities may have different restrictions in place depending on the level of local infections.
“We check influenza-like illness in the ERs, and then some lab data weekly,” McMasters said. “So we'll look at that every week, with this coalition of Marion County hospitals, and then make a decision when we start to see the numbers go back towards more of a baseline.”
In Marion County, the changes in visitor policies will be enacted within Community Health Network, Fransican Health Indianapolis, Ascension St. Vincent, Indiana University Health, and Sidney and Lois Eskinazi Hospital.
Anyone interested in visiting a patient in Indiana would be wise to check with the healthcare facility they are planning on visiting ahead of time to see what restrictions are in place.
Health experts also advise people to get their annual flu vaccinations, wash their hands, cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing, and to stay home at least 24 hours after a fever breaks.
Contact WFYI Digital Producer and Reporter Jeremy Reuben at jreuben@wfyi.org.
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