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Hospital:Avoid the ER if you have flu

By JOHN MUNFORD

jmunford@thecitizennews.com

Bracing for a surge in emergency room visits with the impending flu season, Fayette Community Hospital is asking patients with flu-related symptoms and other non-life threatening problems to use the hospital’s nearby Minor Emergency Care Center in Fayetteville.

The goal is to help reduce wait times for patients, said Dr. James Robertson of Fayette Community’s Emergency Department.

“We want to try and address their symptoms and try to get them out of there sooner,” Robertson said.

Patients with life-threatening situations such as a heart attack, pneumonia, injuries from an auto accident and respiratory illnesses get priority treatment in the ER, Robertson said. Patients with minor symptoms such as the flu are put on the back burner, which can translate to long wait times in the emergency department, Robertson said.

The emergency department at Fayette Community is saturated with patients several times a week, Robertson noted.

“Sometimes, we have to get patients in the hallways to evaluate them,” Robertson said.

The doctors and nurses at the Minor Emergency Care Center, which has 15 patient rooms, have the same level of training as those who work in the hospital’s regular emergency room, said hospital spokesperson Ryan Duffy.

The center is about 1.5 miles east of Fayette Community on Yorktown Drive just off Ga. Highway 54 in the same building as Fayette Medical Clinic. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and accepts the same insurance plans as the regular emergency room, officials said.

If a patient at the MECC needs attention at the regular ER, arrangements are quickly made for ambulance transportation, Duffy noted. Conversely, if a patient evaluated at the ER has minor symptoms and can be treated more quickly at the Minor Emergency Care Center, the patient will be offered transportation there, Duffy said.

Fayette Community Hospital recommends persons with the following typical flu symptoms should seek care at the MECC: General body ache, muscle ache, low-grade fever, runny nose, sore throat, mild headache or cough and congestion not associated with shortness of breath.

Persons with other minor medical issues are also asked to use the Minor Emergency Care Center, including those with:

Cold symptoms

Ear infection

Strains

Sprains

Simple lacerations (cuts)

Foreign bodies in the eye and

Urinary tract infections

Persons with chest pain, shortness of breath or other life-threatening emergencies are urged to come to the hospital’s regular emergency room, hospital official said.

“We’re not trying to say, ‘Don’t come to the hospital,’” Duffy said.

The Minor Emergency Care Center has 15 patient care rooms, on-site X-ray technology and the capability to run many lab tests, officials said.

In contrast, Fayette Community’s Emergency Department has 12 patient rooms, meaning that sometimes patients are treated in the hallways, Robertson said.

The ER was designed to handle between 12,000 and 15,000 visits a year, but it is logging over 40,000 visits a year, Dr. Robertson noted.

The hospital is working to move departments adjacent to the ER so it can expand, ultimately to have 32 total patient care rooms available, Duffy noted.

Hospitals across the country are bracing to deal with the flu even more so this year due to the shortage of flu vaccines available in the United States. Officials are trying to make sure that people deemed at highest risk are vaccinated first, including infants, senior citizens, pregnant women, patients with weakened immune systems and chronic diseases and healthcare workers who offer direct patient care.

Although there is a shortage of the flu vaccine this year, there are other actions people can take to stay well during the flu season and prevent the spread of the flu bug, medical experts say. Among these, according to officials at Fayette Community Hospital, are:

Wash your hands often.

Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze.

Get plenty of rest.

Drink plenty of liquids.

If you are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms, stay home until you feel better.’

What are your symptoms?

Fayette Community Hospital recommends persons with the following typical flu symptoms should seek care at the MECC: general body ache, muscle ache, low-grade fever, runny nose, sore throat, mild headache or cough and congestion not associated with shortness of breath.

Persons with other minor medical issues are also asked to use the Minor Emergency Care Center, including those with:

Cold symptoms

Ear infection

Strains

Sprains

Simple lacerations (cuts)

Foreign bodies in the eye and

Urinary tract infections

Flu vaccine offered Mon.

Piedmont Hospital, which is affiliated with Fayette Community Hospital, will offer a limited amount of flu vaccines to the public Monday, Nov. 8 at the Rich’s-Macy’s department store at Perimeter Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The vaccine will be distributed to the first 200 people, officials said.

The cost is $20 per person. The vaccines are free for Medicare B patients with identification.