City Hospitals Implement Visitor Restrictions

Our local MSM is hyping this change as "Hospitals on Lockdown." I do not want to take a negative alarmist approach as they are but, I've also never heard of these kinds of restrictions:

Clarian Health restricts hospital visitsts
Updated: May 1, 2009 05:49 PM EDT

Indianapolis - As a precaution against the potential threat of the H1N1 virus, Clarian Health is temporarily restricting non-essential patient visitors at its downtown hospitals - Methodist, Indiana University (including the IU Simon Cancer Center) and Riley Hospital for Children.

Only essential adult visitors - parents, spouse/domestic partner and spiritual counselors - will be allowed to visit hospitalized patients.

This temporary policy is effective immediately (Friday, May 1st, 2009).

In addition to the restriction of non-essential visitors, Clarian is asking families to limit the number of people accompanying patients to the emergency room; outpatient surgery waiting rooms and procedure areas; and primary care and specialist physician offices.

The decision to temporarily restrict non-essential visitors will be reviewed on a daily basis and lifted at the earliest appropriate time.

On the surface, this seems a logical and intellectual approach to minimize cross contamination and reduce the opportunity for the H1N1 virus to infect those whose immune systems are already compromised.

That said, it appears to me the health provider communities are speaking out both sides of their mouths. On one hand, they claim this flu is no worse then other known flu but then take drastic measures such as these. I don't recall ever seeing this type of response to any health threat. It makes one wonder what they do know and what they may not be telling us.

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[edit on 5/1/2009 by Whisper67]