SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Kids ages 12 and under are no longer allowed to visit patients at the two Sacred Heart facilities in Eugene/Springfield or the Cottage Grove hospital due to the increased risk of H1N1 swine flu, PeaceHealth announced Thursday.

"The revised policy is based on infection control practices and evidence-based medicine in the interest of protecting the public, hospital staff, and medically at-risk populations from becoming ill with the H1N1 influenza virus," PeaceHealth said in a press release.

As of Thursday, Oct. 29, children 12 and under will not be allowed to visit Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, Or., and University District in Eugene, Ore., as well as Cottage Grove Community Hospital.

PeaceHealth noted that the restriction does not apply to patients 12 and under who have come to the hospitals for medical care.

"The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified members of the patient population that is cared for in PeaceHealth hospitals as being at higher risk of severe complications, including death, if exposed to the flu," PeaceHealth said. "These include patients in labor/delivery, mother/baby post partum, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, intensive care, oncology and infusion. Limiting the number of visitors — particularly children — is necessary to reduce the risk of illness for our patients. Children are more likely to contract and spread the H1N1 virus."

Additional visitor restrictions also remain in place at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in the Labor & Delivery, Mother/Baby, Pediatrics and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Visitors to these units are restricted to two adult support people. No other visitors will be allowed to enter.

The patient’s two support people must be healthy and not showing any symptoms of flu, which include a fever greater than 100 degrees plus one of the following symptoms: headache, body aches, cough, sore throat or nasal congestion.

The restrictions are temporary and will be lifted once the community sees a sustained downward trend in flu cases in the inpatient hospital population as well as outpatient medical clinics, PeaceHealth said.

Families are encouraged to visit www.peacehealth.org/shmc for updates to the visitor policy.