Central Vermont hospital changes visitor policy

[vt.mathgirl]

From the Burlington Free Press

October 17, 2009


Central Vermont hospital changes visitor policy

Free Press Staff Report

BERLIN -- Central Vermont Medical Center is revising its visitor policy starting Monday to guard against the spread of swine flu. Restrictions will remain in place throughout the H1N1 flu season.

Beginning Monday, there will be a limit of two visitors per patient, hospitalwide, including the emergency department. Children under the age of 12 will not be allowed to visit. An exception will be made on the Women & Children's Unit. The healthy sibling of a new baby may visit and will be included in the two visitor limit.

Any support people for new mothers who are ill with flu like symptoms will be asked to return home. Visitors to pediatric patients will be restricted to parents or caregivers.

Visitors to medical-surgical patients on the Women and Children's Unit are limited to only immediate family, two visitors per patient. If the patient does not have immediate family, close friends will be allowed to visit. Visitors with signs of influenza like illness will not be permitted to visit.

Anyone visiting the Women & Children's Unit and the Davis Special Care Unit must wash their hands and wear a surgical mask. Alcohol hand sanitizer and masks will be made available. Visitors will also be expected to wash their hands when entering and exiting the patient's room.

If there are extenuating circumstances, such as a dying loved one, visitors will be managed on a case by case basis.

For information on the flu call the CVMC Flu Hot line at 371-4FLU (371-4358) or visit www.cvmc.org.

 

[Commonground]

Re: Central Vermont hospital changes visitor policy

Vermont hospitals set swine flu policies
October 20, 2009

BERLIN -- Fletcher Allen Health Care has twice changed its visitation policy this fall to prevent the spread of swine flu to patients and staff, while other hospitals are keeping things the same, for now.
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Fletcher Allen is joined by Rutland Regional Medical Center, Central Vermont Hospital in Berlin, Copley Hospital in Morrisville and North Country Hospital in Newport in restricting access by visitors to some parts of their hospitals.

"We're restricting visitors in targeted areas, high-risk areas," including intensive-care, in-patient children's, labor and delivery and postpartum units, said Dawn LeBaron, vice president for hospital services at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.

The Rutland hospital is taking steps to ensure visitors to patients with swine flu, also known as the new H1N1 virus, don't spread it to other parts of the hospital.

"Visitors should wear surgical mask, gloves, and gown when entering room," a policy issued recently by the Rutland hospital says.

At Central Vermont Hospital, Alison White, chief nursing officer and vice president for quality, said restrictions on visitors are expected to remain in place for months.

"We're planning on this going through until springtime," she said. "It's going to be a marathon; it's not going to be a sprint."

Nina Tuller, a 48-year-old deli manager from Calais, said it makes sense to her.

"People with leukemia, with cancer, don't need to worry about their hospital. They need to know it's safe," Tuller said as she arrived at the Berlin hospital to visit a family member who had just had surgery.

"I don't want to see anyone die because someone was inconsiderate and came in with a cold," she said.

Debra Laprade, a 51-year-old convenience store worker from Williamstown, said the policy sounded like a good idea to her, too.

"I have a granddaughter who has asthma," Laprade said. "We don't want her to catch pneumonia from someone else who's here."

No change in visitor policy is contemplated -- at least for now -- at Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, said Linda Minsinger, vice president of patient care services.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091020/NEWS02/910200305/1001/NEWS