Wednesday, December 31, 2003
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Wednesday, December 31, 2003 |
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Patients asked for patience as flu cases jam hospital E.R. By J. FRANK LYNCH This winter’s outbreak of the flu virus has pushed the number of visits to Fayette Community Hospital’s emergency room up 30 percent from normal levels, raising the wait times to see a physician and prompting hospital officials to ask for understanding from the community. The holidays are traditionally among the busiest times of the year for emergency visits anyway, said hospital spokeswoman Ryan Duffy. Schools are closed and family is in town to visit, and many private doctors close their offices, said Duffy. Add in hundreds of flu sufferers seeking relief, and the backlog grows quickly. “It’s going to be a long wait,” Duffy confessed of the time to see a doctor at the hospital for non-life threatening cases. Because of the nature of this particular flu virus and efforts to identify the strain, hospital workers are running additional tests on sick visitors that may also add to the time, Duffy said. “It’s taking longer to get through our system because our volume is up,” she said. “We have a facility that’s only so big and we still have heart attacks and broken limbs and other emergencies as well.” Built to handle about 20,000 visitors a year, Fayette Community’s emergency room will see nearly twice that many this year, in excess of 35,000 Duffy said. “We’ve watched our staffing very closely and made sure we have what it takes to handle the volumes that are coming through,” she said. “We could crank people through, but if you’re sick, you’re sick and we intend to take care of you.” Duffy said this flu shouldn’t be taken lightly. “The news coverage we are seeing as consumers about the flu is really frightening,” Duffy said. While Georgia’s blundered attempt to purchase $1.65 million in flu shots has been making the news, Duffy said it’s still a good idea to get the vaccine if you can find it through private doctors or the county health department. The hospital does not issue flu shots, she said. Duffy encouraged flu sufferers to visit the hospital’s minor immediate care emergency room at the Fayette Medicla Clinic, which has been staying open until all patients are seen even tough its posted hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The quality of service remains the same as one gets at the hospital, Duffy said. “We will take care of everyone with the highest quality care and as promptly as possible.” The school system’s holiday break could help put a dent in the spread of the flu, though Duffy said there’s no evidence to suggest it’s had an impact so far. Fayette County classrooms that seemed unusually sparse in the days leading up to Christmas break didn’t warrant concern at the school system’s central office. Spokeswoman Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said late last week that no reports of excessive absenteeism had come in from any of the district’s 29 schools, despite the impression that the whole county was ill. Debbie King, supervising health nurse over all the school clinics, said absenteeism ranged between 8 percent and 13 percent the week of Dec. 15-19. On a normal day, Fayette County Schools average about 96 percent attendance, among the highest rates in the state. King said that serious consideration of closing schools due to overwhelming illness would only be considered if absenteeism nears the 50 percent range, and then not so much out of concern that too many students are missing lessons, but rather for the teachers. “If there are that many kids sick, then it’s likely our teachers are sick, too,” said King. After all, there are a limited number of substitutes available as well. And even subs call in sick. “If we can’t staff the classrooms, we’d have to shut down,” King said. KEEPING THE FLU OUT OF SCHOOL WASH THOSE HANDS: Everyone, especially students, teachers and school staff should wash their hands several times a day, and avoid contact with someone sneezing or coughing. STAY HOME: A sick child is advised to remain at home during the first couple of days of illness when symptoms are most severe and the infection is most contagious. A child can return to school when symptoms are improving and he has had no fever for at least 24 hours. FLU HOLIDAYS: School closings have not been shown to be an effective control measure. If necessary because of high absenteeism, the decision to temporarily close a school is made by school officials and local public health authorities. SHOT IN THE DARK: It is not too late to get a flu shot, if the vaccine can be located. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends yearly flu vaccine for anyone with a chronic medical condition or a weakened immune system, people aged 50 years and older, children aged 6-24 months, and women more than 3 months pregnant during flu season. Flu vaccine should be considered for people who want to protect themselves and others around them against the flu. Although vaccination just before the flu season is best, the flu season can last weeks or even months, so vaccination during the season is better than not being vaccinated at all. ON THE WEB More information on Influenza and Influenza Vaccine can be found at: • Georgia Immunization Program - health.state.ga.us/programs/immunization/flu.shtml • Georgia Influenza Surveillance - health.state.ga.us/epi/flu/ • CDC National Immunization Program - www.cdc.gov/nip/flu/default.htm • CDC Influenza Surveillance - www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/weeklychoice.htm • Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health Phone: 404-657-2588 Fax: 404-657-7517 Web: http://health.state.ga.us/
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