As the result of the increasing level of H1N1 activity in the community, The Family Birth Center of Saint Clare’s Hospital is temporarily restricting visitors to the facility until further notice.
Effective immediately upon arrival, expectant mothers will be asked to designate a support person who, if healthy, will be granted visiting privileges. This designated person will be the only one granted visiting privileges for the duration of the patient and baby’s stay and means regrettably that siblings, grandparents and other family members will not be allowed to visit.
“This is an extremely difficult decision, but one that we feel is necessary to protect the health and well-being of the families who rely upon our services,” said Ellen Schumann, M.D., medical director of women’s and family services at Saint Clare’s Hospital. “Pregnant women and young children have been identified as high risk populations for the H1N1 virus and we feel this will provide much needed protection during their time of delivery and afterward.”
Those identified as support persons must be in good health with no signs or symptoms of fever, cough, runny nose, headache, body aches or fatigue.
Dr. Schumann also reinforces the importance of staying home if you are not feeling well along with proper hand-washing, use of hand sanitizer and covering your cough to limit the spread of germs and bacteria.