GDAHA hospitals will be implementing that policy starting Friday, said Sarah Hackenbracht, GDAHA’s president and CEO.
“Due to the increase in influenza-like illnesses, area hospitals will collectively implement visitation restrictions on January 3, 2025,” Hackenbracht said.
Visitors will be asked to follow the guidelines below when visiting patients at GDAHA hospitals:
- No children under 14 years old should come to the hospital unless they need medical care. If you feel you have special circumstances, please talk to one of the nursing supervisors.
- All visitors should be healthy. Do not visit if you feel sick or have symptoms of a cold, flu or another illness.
- Cover your cough. Please request a mask if you are coughing frequently. Otherwise, when you sneeze or cough, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash, or cough or sneeze into your sleeve.
- Wash your hands frequently.
GDAHA represents 29 member hospitals and health organizations serving 11 counties — Auglaize, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby and Warren.
“With visitation restrictions, the goal is to limit the spread of infections within area hospitals to keep patients and their families safe,” Hackenbracht said.
Influenza activity in the state is “high,” as Ohio Department of Health data showed a recent 116% increase in flu hospitalizations. Outpatient visits for flu-like symptoms also increased 41%.
In Montgomery County, influenza is on the rise but still under the five-year average, according to Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County’s flu report. The report says 3% of visits to the emergency department are due to fevers and flu-like symptoms and 11.3% of visits to the emergency department are for constitutional symptoms, which are general symptoms like fatigue, malaise, muscle aches, headache, nausea and so on.
“This early in the winter season, we are also focused on preventing the spread of infection among staff and employees so they remain healthy and able to provide care to the communities we serve,” Hackenbracht said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed the Never Alone Act, which becomes law 90 days after his signing. The Never Alone Act entitles patients to a designated advocate and likely would not interfere with GDAHA’s visitation restriction policy.
Within the Never Alone Act, an advocate means an individual who advocates on behalf of a congregate care setting patient or resident. Such an individual may include, but is not limited to: the patient’s or resident’s spouse, family member, companion or guardian; for underage patients, the minor’s parent or guardian; someone appointed by a court to be a patient’s guardian; or the patient’s power of attorney.
Automatic disqualifications for being a patient’s advocate includes if the care setting has determined that the individual poses a serious risk to the patient’s or resident’s physical health, according to the bill’s analysis.
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