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All hospitals must prepare for flu onslaught, doctor says
October 16, 2009
Joy Slagowski
Daily News-Sun
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Medical staff should brace for a double-pronged flu season that could test the limits of West Valley emergency rooms and challenge local hospitals to deal with pediatric cases that are normally sent elsewhere, a county health official said Thursday in Sun City.
"There will be a big ICU volumnes," said Robert French, an emergency physician with Maricopa County Department of Public Health and Office of Public Health Emergency Management. "And where we normally sent (pediatric cases) to Las Vegas, New Mexico to find pediatric hospitals, we need to realize that this is a national issue, and it was hard to find space in a good year."
French spoke to Banner Boswell Medical Center hospital staff, giving them an update on influenza and the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
He said the flu cases occurring now are H1N1, and this is the second wave of the pandemic, which began in September. Seasonal flu is normally at its height near Super Bowl Sunday.
"(H1N1) is affecting the high-risk groups, which are mostly kids and young adults, with tens of thousands hospitalized," French said. "But there are a few that aren?t (in the high-risk category) and that should scare the heck out of you."
French said the county health department is not seeing a lot of seniors 65 and older currently with the H1N1 virus.
"However the ones we do see are getting pretty sick," French said.
French said health-care workers are being encouraged not go to work sick, and to stay home until their body temperature has been back to normal for 24 hours, or seven days after they got sick, whichever is longer.
"This is a culture shock, because in medicine we are used to working sick," French said.
In the first wave of H1N1, school closures were recommended to help contain the virus. But those restrictions have been eased locally because it was found the negative impact on a community exceeded the benefits with the pandemic at this stage, French said.
Closing schools leads to increased worker absenteeism and other issues, negatively impacting the health-care field in particular.
"It?s reported that 40 percent of health-care workers are single parents," French said.
Though children through young adults, pregnant women and health-care/emergency and caregivers are considered high risk, other factors can contribute to contracting H1N1.
Obesity, asthma and neuromuscular disease also are factors, French said.
The H1N1 vaccine is safe and recommended, he said, but it is coming in slowly.
"It?s definitely trickling in," French said, adding that what was received so far by the county has been distributed. More is on the way.
Children are the main disseminators of flu viruses: attack rates are highest in children, and infectious period begins earlier and lasts longer with kids.
"It?s been found that when you target this group, you can prevent infection in the community," French said. "If we get a large amount of vaccine, we want to vaccinate the kids first."
October 16, 2009
Joy Slagowski
Daily News-Sun
<!-- Video goes here -->
Medical staff should brace for a double-pronged flu season that could test the limits of West Valley emergency rooms and challenge local hospitals to deal with pediatric cases that are normally sent elsewhere, a county health official said Thursday in Sun City.
"There will be a big ICU volumnes," said Robert French, an emergency physician with Maricopa County Department of Public Health and Office of Public Health Emergency Management. "And where we normally sent (pediatric cases) to Las Vegas, New Mexico to find pediatric hospitals, we need to realize that this is a national issue, and it was hard to find space in a good year."
French spoke to Banner Boswell Medical Center hospital staff, giving them an update on influenza and the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
He said the flu cases occurring now are H1N1, and this is the second wave of the pandemic, which began in September. Seasonal flu is normally at its height near Super Bowl Sunday.
"(H1N1) is affecting the high-risk groups, which are mostly kids and young adults, with tens of thousands hospitalized," French said. "But there are a few that aren?t (in the high-risk category) and that should scare the heck out of you."
French said the county health department is not seeing a lot of seniors 65 and older currently with the H1N1 virus.
"However the ones we do see are getting pretty sick," French said.
French said health-care workers are being encouraged not go to work sick, and to stay home until their body temperature has been back to normal for 24 hours, or seven days after they got sick, whichever is longer.
"This is a culture shock, because in medicine we are used to working sick," French said.
In the first wave of H1N1, school closures were recommended to help contain the virus. But those restrictions have been eased locally because it was found the negative impact on a community exceeded the benefits with the pandemic at this stage, French said.
Closing schools leads to increased worker absenteeism and other issues, negatively impacting the health-care field in particular.
"It?s reported that 40 percent of health-care workers are single parents," French said.
Though children through young adults, pregnant women and health-care/emergency and caregivers are considered high risk, other factors can contribute to contracting H1N1.
Obesity, asthma and neuromuscular disease also are factors, French said.
The H1N1 vaccine is safe and recommended, he said, but it is coming in slowly.
"It?s definitely trickling in," French said, adding that what was received so far by the county has been distributed. More is on the way.
Children are the main disseminators of flu viruses: attack rates are highest in children, and infectious period begins earlier and lasts longer with kids.
"It?s been found that when you target this group, you can prevent infection in the community," French said. "If we get a large amount of vaccine, we want to vaccinate the kids first."
