Due to the level of flu activity, two hospitals in the area have implemented visitation restriction guidelines.
Officials with Baptist Health Madisonville and Logan Memorial Hospital in Russellville implemented the visitation restriction guidelines in order to stop the further spread of the flu virus and to protect the health of their current patients that are vulnerable during this time.
Some of the guidelines implemented at Baptist Health in Madisonville include the following:
– Visitors will be restricted to those determined to be immediate family or significantly participating in the support of the hospitalized patient.
– No visitors with respiratory infections or influenza-like symptoms such as cough, fever, sore throat, chills, body aches, and runny nose.
– No visitors under the age of 15 and under. Siblings of newborns will be allowed if no fever in the past 24 hours and no current cold or flu symptoms.
– Exceptions to the above restrictions may be made for critically-ill or end-of-life situations.
– All visitors need to wash their hands frequently and use hand sanitizer.
At Logan Memorial Hospital, officials have implemented guidelines that include limiting the number of visitors to three per patient. They also say if you have flu-like symptoms, do not visit patients, and they note please ask for a mask if you are in the hospital for tests or procedures and have a flu-like illness (fever over 100 degrees with cough or sore throat).
Kentucky public health officials reported last month the first four flu-deaths of the 2019-2020 flu season and said the flu activity in the state had been raised to “widespread”, the highest flu activity level.
As of Friday, 45 states are reporting widespread activity with the child death toll for the season rising to 27.
