Hospitals to bar children from visiting until flu season ends

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By Anthony Gottschlich, Staff Writer Updated 6:55 AM Friday, October 2, 2009

Dayton-area hospitals plan to prohibit children under 14 from visiting patients until the flu season passes next year, a hospital official said Thursday, Oct. 1.

Bryan Bucklew, president of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, said the move is part of a restricted visitation policy designed to minimize the spread of seasonal and H1N1 flu. It also applies to anyone showing signs of respiratory infection.

“This is just a precautionary measure to ensure that patients being treated at the hospitals are in the most safe and effective environment to get better,” Bucklew said, noting details of the policy were still being worked out Thursday, but should be finalized by Friday and implemented Monday. “We don’t want to expose any patients to any unnecessary risks of catching the seasonal flu or H1N1.”

Hospitals will implement restrictions with the “utmost sensitivity and respect to patients and their families,” he said, noting exceptions will be made when life and death cases are involved.

Cincinnati-area hospitals approved a similar policy last week, Bucklew said. Visitors 14 and older are permitted because it’s believed their immune systems and hygiene practices are more mature, he said.

GDAHA includes 21 hospitals in the Miami Valley. Bucklew said he doesn’t anticipate a public backlash to the policy, given the sensitivity and media exposure regarding H1N1, commonly known as swine flu.

“Everybody wants to make sure everyone stays healthy,” he said.

The flu season ends March 15.

GDAHA’s announcement coincides with a report released Thursday showing the nation’s hospitals could be flooded with H1N1 patients at the height of an outbreak.

If 35 percent of the population gets H1N1, as many as 56,228 Ohioans might need to be hospitalized, according to “H1N1 Challenges Ahead,” a report by Trust for America’s Health, a national nonprofit organization focused on disease prevention.

For a list of participating hospitals, go here.

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