Franciscan Alliance hospitals in Lake County, Indiana, adopt visitor restrictions to prevent flu spread

Franciscan Alliance hospitals in Lake County, Indiana, have adopted temporary visitor restrictions in an effort to help prevent spread of the influenza virus.

The measures, effective at Franciscan St. Anthony Health - Crown Point, Franciscan St. Margaret Health- Dyer and Hammond and Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Munster include:

• People exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to not come to the hospitals to visit. Symptoms include runny nose, cough, or fever of more than 100 degrees.
• Visitors under age 18 will not be permitted.
• No more than two persons at a time may visit a patient and visiting hours will be strictly enforced.
• Visitors are asked to sanitize their hands before coming into the hospitals and to wash their hands often, especially before entering a patient’s room and upon leaving. Hospitals are equipped with hand sanitizer units, as well.
• Reading materials and toys in many cases have been removed from waiting rooms.

Visitors are thanked for their cooperation to help the hospitals minimize the impact of the virus.

Additional Resources

For more information about the flu, please choose a topic:

• In-Depth Report: Colds and the flu
• Questions to ask your doctor - adult or child
• Influenza Vaccine

Videos

• The Difference Between a Cold and the Flu
• Tips on Buying Cold and Flu Medicine
• What Should I Do If My Child Has the Flu?

Franciscan Physician Network expands to better serve patients in 3 states

Franciscan Alliance's Franciscan Physician Network has grown to include more than 260 doctors to serve patients in three states.

The expansion mostly includes physicians in more than 40 health centers and clinics in Indiana, southeast Cook County in Illinois and Berrien County in Michigan. Those facilities are under the auspices of Franciscan St. Anthony Health - Crown Point, Franciscan St. Anthony Health - Michigan City, Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer and Hammond, and Franciscan Hammond Clinic and Franciscan Physicians Hospital, both in Munster.

"Franciscan Physician Network is the brand name of a regionally initiated and corporate-led effort to more closely align separate employed physician groups in the Franciscan Alliance Northern Indiana Region, as well as throughout Franciscan Alliance," said Gene Diamond, Northern Indiana Region CEO. "Franciscan Physician Network’s emphasis is on coordinating services to employed physicians and their offices, including, but not limited to, billing, contracting, recruiting, compensation and benefits."

Formation of the expanded Franciscan Physician Network officially took place in January.

Added Scott Bonnar, Franciscan Physician Network regional executive director, "Franciscan Physician Network is working to redesign care delivery. We are driven to provide the highest quality care in the region in a patient-centered and cost-effective way, with sensitivity to the high deductible health plans of our patients.

"We currently provide 42 clinic locations with two urgent care and three Franciscan ExpressCare locations to provide easy access to our service areas."

The Franciscan Physician Network sites also are enhancing their services through use of the EpicCare electronic medical records system, which provides physicians and patients faster access to information and a secure link between doctors' offices and hospitals.

Patients are able to access their medical records free of charge from physician offices and the hospitals through Epic's MyChart system, which also provides reference materials to help them understand their conditions and to answer questions. The system likewise allows patients to request or schedule physician appointments.

For more information on Franciscan Physician Network and a listing of physicians, visit: FranciscanDocs.org.