Corewell restricts visitors due to rise in cold, flu and RSV cases

Each patient may only have two Corewell visitors during the day and one overnight.

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    Cold and flu season has hit Metro Detroit hard, causing hospital visitor restrictions at Corewell.
    
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    William Beaumont University Hospital is at 95% capacity in its pediatric beds.
    
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    Corewell visitors are limited to 2 patients per day with one overnight.
    

• 
  Cold and flu season has hit Metro Detroit hard, causing hospital visitor restrictions at Corewell.
  
• 
  William Beaumont University Hospital is at 95% capacity in its pediatric beds.
  
• 
  Corewell visitors are limited to 2 patients per day with one overnight.
  

FOX 2-To ensure everyone stays safe at hospitals this winter, several visiting regulations are altering as the cold and flu season heats up.

Corewell Health is enforcing visitor limits in an effort to curb the spread of illnesses ranging from RSV to the flu and everything in between.

“We’re starting to see more cases in our emergency departments because this is the time of year we start to see more RSV, respiratory viruses, and flu,” said Dr. Matthew Denenberg of Corewell Health. Actually, the number of pediatric beds at William Beaumont University Hospital has been at 95%.

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is also almost full, according to Denenberg, Corewell’s chief pediatrician.

He claims that because infections are spreading across the population at this time of year, large surges of young patients are typical.

It may seem a bit unsettling to small children and their parents because Corewell visitors are only allowed to see two patients during the day and one overnight, but the procedure is designed with community health in mind.

“As we see more and more children in the hospital and more and more in the community, it becomes necessary to limit the number of visitors at the bedside both to help prevent the spread of these infections but also for logistics of taking care of patients when we re this crowded,” the physician stated.

According to Denenberg, it is too soon to determine whether the increase in RSV and other viruses is greater than it was the previous year. He advises parents to use over-the-counter medications to help manage their children’s illnesses, but to keep an eye out for more serious ones.

“If they re showing signs of respiratory difficulty, dehydration, change in behavior or mental status, those are the signs we worry,” he stated. “And at the very least contact your doctor but potentially go to the emergency department.”