Each day more people are testing positive for the flu virus locally and throughout the region. In an effort to help keep the most vulnerable people well, Sarah Bush Lincoln has issued temporary visitor restrictions.
The temporary visitor restrictions include:
· Visitors under the age of 18 are restricted (unless they are the parent of a hospitalized child)
· Visitors limited to two per patient at any one time
· Please do not visit if you have a cough or cold
· Visitors should wear a mask if they are experiencing symptoms of acute respiratory illness (fever, cough, sore throat)
· Visits to patients in isolation for influenza are limited to persons who are necessary for the patient’s emotional well-being and care.
Sarah Bush Lincoln highly encourages people to protect their health and the health of SBL patients by staying home if they are not feeling well. Children and older adults and those whose immune systems are compromised are most at risk for becoming ill.
At each entrance of the Health Center and at all of SBL clinics, there are supplies to use to protect yourself and others from viruses. Please feel free to use the tissue, wipes and masks in an effort to help contain any virus you may have or from being exposed to it.
Hand sanitizer is available inside each patient room. Visitors are asked to use it as they enter and exit the room in a greater effort to protect the patient and themselves. Hand hygiene with soap and water or hand sanitizer are both good options. One is not preferred over the other unless hands are visibly soiled with blood and body fluids – and then soap and water is needed
Ways to protect yourself:
- Cover your cough.
- Wash your hands with soapy water for at last 15 seconds. (Hand sanitizer works well, but soap and water is a better option.)
- Use a paper towel to dry your hands. (Air dryers help grow bacteria and spread germs.)
- Clean surfaces in your home and at work, cleaning doorknobs, chair arms, telephones, keyboards, kitchen handles and other items that are often touched.
- Get vaccinated against the flu.
For more information contact Ramona Tomshack, RN, or Lynn Berner, RN in Infection Prevention at 217 258-2189.