Porter Health System Temporarily Alters Visitor Guidelines

Beginning Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, Porter Health System will temporarily alter its visitation guidelines to better help protect its patients, visitors and staff from unnecessary exposure to the flu. Porter’s new visitor guidelines state:

• Visitors under age 18 are not permitted to visit hospital patients.
• Visitors are asked not to bring anyone under age 18 into any Porter waiting areas unless that person is here for treatment.
  
• The number of visitors for all patients is limited to two.
  
• Only essential adult visitors will be allowed to visit patients.

The new visitor guidelines are in effect at all Porter Health System facilities which include: Valparaiso Hospital Campus, Portage Hospital Campus, Chesterton Medical Campus, Demotte Medical Campus, Hebron Medical Campus, Sleep Disorders Institute, Valparaiso Outpatient Campus, Education and Rehabilitation Campus, NIOMS, as well as the Portage and Westchester Medical Groups offices.

“Children and young adults are particularly vulnerable to this new flu, and we know from seasonal flu that children are often the source of influenza outbreaks,” explains Taffy Arias, Porter’s Chief Nursing Officer. “By limiting child visitors, we are attempting to protect vulnerable patients from exposure to H1N1 and thereby complicating their hospital stay.”

For more information or questions regarding this temporary procedure, please call 219.263.4675.