Germs Blocked at the Hospital Door

When a friend or family member is in the hospital, our first inclination is to buy flowers, get a gift, send a card — but now we have to check first before we spend our hard-earned money.

Some gift restriction policies have more to do with meeting quality regulations than with patient care.

While it’s well known that flowers aren’t allowed in most intensive care units, many hospitals are now imposing more rules against bringing in flowers, balloons, and other cheer-’em-up goodies.

“From a professional standpoint, I can understand why facilities are banning some gifts,” Kathryn Jones, of Milford, Massachusetts, told LifeZette. She’s an occupational therapist who knows there are inherent risks in some of the more typical “get well” presents.

What if a flower vase tips over and damages expensive electronic equipment, or causes a slip-and-fall accident? What if the patient in a psychiatric care wing uses a piece of broken glass from a flower vase to inflict self-harm? Pollen from flowers could get on the clothing of a medical worker, who could then transport it into a room with a patient who is highly allergic. Then there’s the balloon debacle — involving latex allergies and ribbon hazards.

These are the kinds of what-if scenarios hospitals are likely considering as they create new policies to limit gifts or restrict certain types of presents.

Immune System Issues
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends restricting flowers and plants to protect patients with immune system issues, as plants can grow mold. Despite this, the CDC also said “minimal or no evidence indicates that the presence of plants in immunocompetent patient-care areas poses an increased risk of health care-associated infection.”

Dr. Harvey B. Simon, a founding editor of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch, said in a Chicago Tribune article a few years ago that flowers and their water can harbor bacteria. Most people wouldn’t be vulnerable to those types of bacteria, but hospitals ban them to ensure patient safety.

At Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, each unit conducts its own assessment on gift policies for patient comfort and infection control, a spokesperson told LifeZette. Flowers, in general, are allowed, though there can be restrictions in the hematology/oncology and cardiac transplant departments. Those units suggest Mylar balloons or stuffed animals as an alternative gift, the spokesperson said.

Other Gift Ideas
If a hospital won’t permit balloons or flowers, Kathryn Jones recommends non-scented lotions, slippers, robes, fans, and backscratchers as other gift ideas.

Going online may be another idea, since many companies now offer hospital-friendly gift ideas. Jones runs SuperHealos, superhero-themed gifts made for hospitalized children.

The Hospital Box Company is another resource. Kari Catuogno of New York launched that site after struggling to find an acceptable gift when her mother-in-law was in the hospital for knee surgery.

“Family and friends are definitely looking for alternate hospital gift ideas, now that restrictions on the standard flowers and balloons are getting so tight,” Catuogno said. “And we’re not just hearing this from one particular area of the country — it’s across the states.”

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Some anti-gift policies and restriction policies have more to do with attempts to meet quality regulations than with patient care, said Twila Brase, president and co-founder of the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Brase once worked as an emergency room nurse and saw her share of patients who were helped by flowers and balloons.

While hospitals must pay attention to potential hazards, very few patients have compromised immune systems. In cases where there are clear health hazards, some restrictions should be in place. But even in the intensive care unit, Brase believes hospitals should let patients at least see gifts from behind glass.

She cited research that found distractions can ease a patient’s pain. And a less sterile environment can boost their motivation to get better.

“Hospitals themselves are some of the worst places to be when it comes to germs,” said one nurse.

“This is to give the patient a sense of ‘somebody is thinking of me,'” Brase said. “It’s very good to give a patient cheer and hope.” Flowers are a reminder of life — and balloons remind people to look up, she added.

Brase said she’s more concerned about infections that patients get from hospitals themselves than those potentially from gifts that are brought into hospitals.

“Hospitals themselves are some of the worst places to be when it comes to germs,” Brase noted.

Hospitals with anti-gift policies are likely trying to reduce infection rates, however. Then again, one-size-fits-all gift bans could lower patient satisfaction scores — which can be instrumental for funding.

No wonder there’s some confusion here.

“It’s an interesting conundrum for hospitals,” Brase said. “If they make the environment so sterile, then I wonder how they will rate in patient satisfaction.” She added, “They could actually have a win by letting this stuff come in.”