Ontario, London - LHSC and St. Joseph?s Announce New Temporary Visiting Guidelines

[Pathfinder]

<TABLE height=24 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=448 background=gfx/mnbk.gif border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>Friday, October 30, 2009
London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph?s Health Care, London
LHSC and St. Joseph?s Announce New Temporary Visiting Guidelines

(LONDON, Ontario) - In response to the on-going H1N1 flu pandemic, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph?s Health Care, London (St. Joseph?s) are implementing new visiting guidelines to help protect the safety of patients and staff.
As of today, the following guidelines will be used at both organizations:

Inpatients (acute care)

Acute care inpatients will be allowed no more than one visitor at a time, at any point during the day. In addition, no visitors under the age of 16 will be permitted in the hospital.
At St. Joseph?s, these guidelines apply to all patients at the St. Joseph?s Hospital site.
At LHSC, these guidelines apply to Victoria Hospital, University Hospital, Children?s Hospital and South Street Hospital.

Outpatients

Adult and children outpatients arriving for clinics, day procedures or diagnostic procedures at all LHSC and St. Joseph?s sites are allowed one escort over the age of 16. Please refrain from bringing anyone under the age of 16 to appointments unless absolutely necessary.
?These inpatient and outpatient guidelines are temporary, and may change as the H1N1 pandemic progresses,? said Gillian Kernaghan, Integrated Vice President of Infection Prevention and Control. ?Right now it is important to protect the health and well-being of our staff and the community.?
Both LHSC and St. Joseph?s continue to see an increase in patients coming to the Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centre, as well as an increase in patients diagnosed with influenza-like illness (ILI). Staff members are prioritizing patients based on level of illness, and members of the public are asked to exercise patience, as they could face long wait times.
To help ease this situation, the public is asked to please avoid coming to the Emergency Department or Urgent Care Centre if at all possible, and to utilize the following advice on where and when to seek medical attention.

Consult a family doctor or walk in clinic if you are feeling ill and are:

• less than 5 years of age
• 65 years of age and over
• pregnant or had a baby in the past 4 weeks
• very overweight

Or if you have the following medical conditions:

• lung problems, including asthma
• heart problems
• diabetes
• cancer
• problems with immune system caused by disease or medications, including HIV
• kidney disease
• problems with blood, such as anemia
• neurologic problems
• are less than 18 years of age and taking daily aspirin

Visit an Emergency Department or call 911 if you have:

• Chest pain
• Worsening shortness of breath
• Blue lips
• Inability to keep fluids down and symptoms of dehydration
• Confusion, disorientation, seizures, difficulty waking
• Fever that does not go away or comes back after four to five days

LHSC and St. Joseph?s would also like to remind the public to visit the Middlesex-London Health Unit clinics in the community to receive their H1N1 flu vaccination. LHSC and St. Jospeh?s are not running H1N1 vaccination clinics for members of the public.
Visit the LHSC Media web site at www.lhsc.on.ca/media
Visit the St. Joseph?s Media web site at www.sjhc.london.on.ca/corp/about/comm/index.htm

http://thehealthline.ca/displayArticle.aspx?id=1625

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>