Visitations at Sunrise now limited

Like University Medical Center, Sunrise Children's Hospital has made policy changes for visitors because of the H1N1 emergency.

Spokeswoman Ashlee Seymour said the policy changed Oct. 1.

The changes include:

• Visitors feeling ill are asked not to visit any hospitalized patient;

• Parents of hospitalized children who are feeling ill will be asked to wear a mask while in the hospital;

• If the patient has the flu, visitors will be limited to parents and grandparents only;

• Some units may require pre-screenings for visitors;

• Those 12 and under will be restricted from some units;

• Visitors are asked to wash or sanitize their hands upon leaving or entering a patient's room;

• Parents should only visit their own child.

Seymour said the units that will be heavily screened are the pediatric and intensive care units.

"Children are one of the more at-risk populations being affected by H1N1," said Seymour. "And because of the acuity of patients we see at Sunrise, and the heightened awareness this flu season, we felt it was important to revise our visitation guidelines to help minimize the spread of infection."

UMC officials announced Thursday that they will not allow visitors 16 and younger to come into high-risk areas, including critical care units, transplant areas, floors that house cancer patients or pediatric patients, and areas where patients with H1N1 are being treated.

The number of H1N1-related fatalities in Clark County is 18, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Southern Nevada Health District.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.