Flu forces hospital visitor restrictions in area

Posted at 2 p.m. on January 4, 2020 The Brillion News Visitor restrictions are now in place at all Hospital Sisters Health System hospitals in eastern Wisconsin as a response to the increase of flu cases. Hospitals affected by the restrictions are St. Mary and St. Vincent in Green Bay, St. Nicholas in Sheboygan and St. Clare Memorial in Oconto Falls. Restrictions announced are: > No visitors under the age of 12 in inpatient areas > No visitors of any age with flu-like symptoms including fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose, fever, vomiting or diarrhea The hospitals want to limit the number of healthy visitors to one or two per patient at a given time. These restrictions and guidelines are not in place for a pediatric patient coming to a hospital for an outpatient appointment. While these restrictions are not vastly different than existing infection prevention restrictions for visitors, the high numbers of influenza cases in area communities (including those people requiring hospitalization) have prompted the hospital group to temporarily put these restrictions in place. HSHS will send out a notification once these have been lifted. These restrictions are in place to help keep patients safe and help prevent the spread of germs, the hospitals said. The HSHS also said: > It is not too late to get a flu shot > Washing your hands frequently is one of the best ways to avoid the flu There may be exceptions based on special patient needs that allow families to be with their loved ones. These cases can be discussed with each individual patient’s care team.