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Hospitals reviewing their visitor policies

October 22, 2009 12:35 am

Many hospitals in the area are changing their visitor policies to try to limit the spread of swine flu among patients and staff.

Culpeper Regional Hospital, which typically has an open visitation policy, is asking anyone with chills, a cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle or joint pain, or any inkling of the flu to stay away until symptoms subside, according to hospital spokeswoman Abra Hogarth.

The hospital, like many others, is also discouraging visits by those ages 18 and younger. That ban is because this particular strain of flu, called 2009 H1N1, spreads very easily among children.

"We have considered the latest CDC guidelines in order to provide a safe environment for all patients and staff, while providing the best care to all of our patients," Hogarth wrote in a news release.

MediCorp Health System, which runs both Mary Washington and Stafford hospitals, has not yet made changes to visitation, though the policy is being reviewed, according to spokeswoman Kathleen Allenbaugh.

Potomac Hospital, located in Woodbridge, is barring those under 18 from visiting anyone, with additional restrictions for patients in ICU, pediatrics, labor and delivery, and post-partum.

Fauquier Hospital is prohibiting visitors under 18, except siblings, in the fourth-floor birthing unit.

Hospitals have been clear to note that exceptions may be made for those wishing to visit terminally ill patients.

Hospitals across the nation are altering policies to deal with the virus. Elsewhere in Virginia, a dozen Richmond and tri-cities-area hospitals announced yesterday they were limiting visitors to healthy adults 18 years and older and no more than two adult visitors at a time per patient.

Those restrictions go into effect Monday and will remain in effect at least through March.

"I applaud this coordinated effort by Richmond-area hospitals to protect their patients, visitors and health care providers," State Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley said in a news release. "This approach to infection prevention will help maximize safety for everyone."

Last week, 18 Hampton Roads-area hospitals took similar action, collectively agreeing to bar anyone under 18 from entering the facilities unless they are seeking medical care.

Whether to alter visitation policies is a difficult decision for hospitals. But people can be contagious up to 24 hours before their own symptoms appear.

"There's no perfect way," said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "We cannot hermetically seal the institution. You can have people who are going to get sick tomorrow who already are excreting the virus."

Culpeper is asking those who come to the emergency room for flu treatment to don masks. Most people do not need emergency care for the flu. Signs of a flu emergency include difficulty breathing, severe or persistent vomiting, and flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with a fever and worse cough.

Some are trying education instead of rules, posting signs that urge people of any age to postpone visits if they have any symptoms.

Culpeper has a "flu task force," Hogarth said, and has ordered posters to put up at entrances to be sure visitors and patients know what to do to try to help each other stay healthy.

The Inova Health System hospital chain in Northern Virginia is warning pregnant women they can have just one visitor during their stay in the maternity ward, and it has canceled its popular what-to-expect tours for those soon to deliver.

--The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Laura L. Hutchison: 540/374-5485
Email: lhutchison@freelancestar.com