In an effort to take protective measures in response to the flu outbreak, Nash Health Care has restricted visitation to all of the hospitals on its campus.  As a part of these restrictions, no one under the age of 18 will be allowed to visit patients. This restriction is designed to help protect patients and staff from the spread of the flu. Several North Carolina hospitals-including Carolinas Health System in Charlotte and Novant Health---have put similar restrictions in place.

"We realize this is an inconvenience for many people, but we are already seeing a higher incidence of H1N1 in children and teenagers, and they can be contagious even before they exhibit symptoms," said Wanda Lamm, infection prevention nurse at Nash Health Care. "Because of these factors, we wanted to implement this proactive measure in order to ensure that those who trust us with their care are not exposed to either the seasonal or H1N1 flu. We would like to thank everyone for their cooperation."

Supervised children may wait in the lobby with a parent or guardian.

Exceptions will be made so that children will be allowed to visit dying relatives.

"We'd also like to emphasize that anyone -of any age-who has flu-like symptoms should not visit patients," Lamm said. "Flu symptoms include cough, sore throat, body aches and fever."

While most healthy people are able to recover from the flu without complications, pregnant women, newborns, and patients with compromised immune systems are very vulnerable to complications that may arise as the result of the flu. Therefore, it is imperative that hospitals take these steps to limit the impact of the flu.

Those who are healthy and wish to visit patients should take these precautions:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before and after visiting patients.
• Cover the mouth when coughing. Cough into your elbow/sleeve or a tissue and then discard the tissue immediately and wash your hands afterwards
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Take advantage of the hand hygiene and facemask station available in the lobby of Nash Health Care.
• Speak with your physician or the local health department about getting vaccinated against the flu.

The visitation restrictions are likely to remain in place for several months, or until there is a decline in the number of flu cases nationwide.