IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital removes visitor restrictions

Hospital officials at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie say they’re removing all visitor restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the flu.  Beginning today, chief operating officer Jeffrey Bird says the hospital believes the restrictions are no longer necessary.  Ten hospitals operated by IU Health began limiting visitors in mid-March.

In January of last year, state health officials began talking more seriously about the flu because Indiana had seen more deaths that season than in the last 10 years.  Ultimately, the state says nearly 150 Hoosiers died from the flu between October 2014 and March 2015.  This year’s flu season has been more mild, with 46 flu-related deaths between October and March.