Banner Health put visitor restrictions in place for Arizona hospitals

PHOENIX (Aug. 28, 2009) – Effective Sept. 2, all Banner Health hospitals in Arizona and certain Banner Western Region facilities will enact visitor restrictions to protect our patients, visitors and employees during this influenza season.

This is effective for all Banner Health Arizona hospitals and the following facilities:

• Banner Churchill Community Hospital
• North Colorado Medical Center
• Platte County Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home

The visitor restrictions are:

• Do not visit the hospital if you have signs of possible flu (runny nose, cough, fever, etc.)
• Children ages 12 and under will not be permitted in patient care areas in the hospital. Research indicates that children are the main carriers and transmitters of the flu. Each hospital will determine what is considered a patient care area.
• Typically, patient care areas include any location where a patient may receive care, such as patient rooms, medical imaging, speech/occupational/physical therapy, outpatient services, etc. Visitor restrictions do not apply to public areas such as Waiting Rooms, Lobby, Cafeteria or Gift Shop. Banner Health believes this solution provides options for places children could stay with an adult while others visited patients.
• Some hospitals may choose to implement stricter visitor restrictions under special circumstances.
• Children may be allowed into patient care areas on a case-by-case basis only after a child has been provided with a respiratory mask, gloves and observes strict precautions during this visit.
• Please wash your hands often and before entering a patient’s room and upon leaving. Sinks and waterless hand sanitizer units are available on all nursing units.

These restrictions were developed by Banner Infectious Disease Workgroup. For more information on how to protect yourself and your family against the flu, go to http://bannerhealth.com, Keyword: flu restrictions

About Banner Health
Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns or manages 22 acute-care hospitals, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services including family clinics, home care and hospice services, and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about Banner health, go to http://www.bannerhealth.com.