Peninsula Regional Medical Center cares about the health of its patients, visitors, staff members and the communities it serves. Along with many other hospitals in Maryland and across the country, it has now instituted a modified visitor policy to help prevent exposure this flu season.

“We understand the inconvenience this could cause some people but there are two key reasons why every hospital in America is doing this same type of planning or has already modified its own plan,” said Bruce Patterson, Executive Director of Facilities and Properties. “As health care institutions, we all need to make sure that we ensure the health of our patients, the visiting public and their families-as best we can from a facility standpoint-during this flu season. Also it’s absolutely necessary to protect our health care teams who must be here providing the care others will seek from us this flu season.”

With that in mind, these are the modifications to Peninsula Regional Medical Center’s visitor policy:

Visiting hours throughout the Medical Center are limited to between Noon and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and weekends.

Only two (2) adults are allowed to visit patient care areas such as patient rooms, therapy areas, outpatient services and Peninsula Regional Medical Center physician offices.

To protect the safety of patients, employees and volunteers, persons with upper respiratory illness (cough, fever, etc) should not visit patients.

Children under the age of 18, unless they are a patient or the parent of a patient, are not allowed to visit patient care areas located on the Peninsula Regional campus such as patient rooms, therapy areas, outpatient service areas and Medical Center physician offices. Special accommodations will be made for end of life circumstances. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that young people are more at-risk as carriers and transmitters of the seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus.

Persons with Peninsula Regional outpatient or physician appointments are asked to come to those appointments without their children under age 18, unless the appointment or health care service is for the child.

Only two (2) adult visitors are permitted to visit in Labor & Delivery and Mother/Baby Units. The mother will select the visitors, who will be issued Medical Center provided armbands. Only those two individuals will be permitted to visit. No children, for the safety of their own health and that of others, will be allowed to visit.

Nursery and ICU mothers and significant others are still allowed to visit.

In Pediatrics, two (2) parents are allowed to visit around the clock.

Overnight visitation will be handled on a case by case basis.

To reduce the risk of exposure, it is recommended that pregnant women not visit unless seeking medical treatment.

Volunteers under the age of 18 are not allowed to volunteer during the period of time the visitor policy is modified.

Mask and hand hygiene stations will continue to be provided throughout the Medical Center and at all key entry points.

Materials Management will work closely with vendors to control their access during the flu season.

Certain circumstances would need to be handled on an individual basis and unit staff would work with families and patients to accommodate these situations.

Peninsula Regional will be constantly evaluating the impact of the seasonal and H1N1 flu on the communities it serves. Modifications to its visitor policy could occur very rapidly and without notice depending on the situation.

The Medical Center thanks the communities it serves for helping them to stop the spread of the flu this season to patients, friends and staff, and reminds everyone to participate in good hygiene practices including sneezing or coughing into your sleeve and frequent hand washing and/or hand sanitizing.