Member News Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 17, 2009
Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center Lifts Visitor Restrictions
Children younger than 12 years of age are once again allowed to visit patients at Saint Joseph Medical Center when accompanied by an adult. Restrictions had been implemented when the incidence of seasonal and H1N1 or swine flu was steadily increasing, but the prevalence of H1N1 has decreased significantly within the Will County community.
Under the recommendation of Ahmed Quraishi, PhD, and Behnam Zakhireh, MD, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center's Infection Control Specialists, the visitation restriction has been lifted.
Resurgence of the flu is not expected until mid-January.
"If conditions change and we experience an influx of influenza, we may again implement restrictions," but as long as we remain at low alert levels, we encourage family members to visit their loved ones while they are hospitalized," said Jeffrey Brickman, FACHE, System Senior Vice President and President and CEO of Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center.
About Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center
Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center serves Will County and the southwest Chicago suburbs, providing the area's only 24/7 neurosciences program, advanced cardiac care with a world-class open heart program, family-centered obstetrics, a Level II Emergency Department that has been nationally recognized for eliminating wait, and leading-edge procedures such as Biplane and Trilogy. Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center is part of Mokena, Illinois-based Provena Health. Provena Health is a Catholic health system that includes six hospitals, 17 long-term care and senior residential facilities, 36 clinics, five home health agencies, hospice, private duty, and other health-related activities operating in Illinois and Indiana. Provena Health ministries are sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Visit us on the web at www.provena.org/stjoes.
