“That particular population intermixes a lot more than the normal population with others and therefore is more exposed,” said Warren Tetz, Glendale Adventist’s chief operating officer. “They can be carrying and shedding the virus before they have any symptoms at a greater percentage than the regular population.”
Glendale Adventist Medical Center also stopped permitting visitors in their oncology unit, which treats cancer patients, said Tetz, who is also responsible for H1N1 operations. Enforcing the limitations has been challenging, administrators said.
At Glendale Memorial no visitors younger than 16 are permitted to visit the maternity ward, which includes the neonatal intensive care unit. And no visitors younger than 14 are allowed in other areas of the hospital, spokeswoman Amy Stricker said. Local hospitals also reduced the number of visitors allowed into restricted units to two at a time.
Hospital administrators have put up signs at general entrances and on doors leading into the restricted wards warning patients and visitors of the restrictions and giving tips on how to safeguard against the flu.
Volunteers and a security guard at Glendale Memorial are making sure no one violates the new restrictions.
Security guards have also been posted outside Glendale Adventist’s maternity and neonatal units because those wards get the most visitors, Tetz said.
“We have had a few cases where people have not wanted to follow the rules, but the vast majority, once they’re explained, understand,” he said.
Verdugo Hills’ obstetrics ward is guarded by its nurses, said Sandi Davis, director of prenatal services.
Visitors are buzzed into the ward and must go to a nurses’ station, where they are asked if they have come into contact with an infected person. If they have been exposed to H1N1 carriers, they are asked to leave. Otherwise, patients must sign in and wear a badge, Davis said.
“It’s really been working really well, so far,” she said.
While local hospitals safeguard their most critical patients, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today began holding free swine flu vaccination clinics for the uninsured. The clinics will be at 63 locations, including Los Angeles, Glendale and Granada Hills until Nov. 8, according to county officials.
The first dose of H1N1 vaccinations will be administered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Balboa Sports Center in Encino. Some local hospitals have yet to receive shipments of their H1N1 vaccinations.
