CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atrium Health and other hospitals are restricting access for visitors 12 years old and under due to the growing number of flu cases in the region.
Atrium made the announcement Tuesday, saying the restriction would take effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Atrium Health joins other medical groups in the Carolinas, including CaroMont Health and Novant Health with implementing restrictions at the same date and time to prevent confusion among the public and to better control the spread of the flu.
Atrium Health, Novant Health, Blue Ridge Health, Caromont Health, Randolph Health, Cone Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health all have flu restrictions.
Atrium Health hospitals affected by the tighter visitation policy are: Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital, Atrium Health’s Levine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health Cabarrus, Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health Pineville, Atrium Health Union, Atrium Health University City, Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Kings Mountain, Atrium Health Anson, Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge, Atrium Health Stanly, Atrium Health Behavioral Health Charlotte, Atrium Health Behavioral Health Davidson, Carolinas Rehabilitation-Charlotte, Carolinas Rehabilitation-NorthEast, Carolinas Rehabilitation-Mt. Holly and Atrium Health Pineville Rehabilitation Hospital.
Atrium Health is also asking individuals of all ages who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to help control the spread of the illness by not visiting patients in the hospital while ill with flu like symptoms. Symptoms of flu include: fever, headaches/body aches/pain, cough or sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Health officials in North Carolina report 10 flu-related deaths in the state so far this flu season. In South Carolina, the number of flu-related deaths has risen to 15.
Dr. Stephen Lingo, internal medicine physician with Atrium Health, said he doesn’t expect this flu season to be extreme, but typically cases do start to increase after the holidays.
"It is important for everyone who can to get a flu shot because that does help hurt immunity,” Lingo said. “It does decrease the number of people who get the flu, who are hospitalized for the flu, and it decreases the number of deaths from the flu."