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UW Health Services Implements 'Surge Plan' Over Flu Cases
Some Routine Appointments Being Postponed
Updated: 8:56 am CDT September 10, 2009
Madison Wis. -- On the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, so many students are visiting University Health Services with flu symptoms that a so-called "surge plan" has been put into effect.
The nearly 200 students patients coming in with possible flu means that some routine visits have been postponed.
"Physical exams, high blood pressure, gynecology exams -- those sort of things (are being put on hold)," said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, of University Health Services.
University Health Services staff members have been working extra hours to deal with the influx of patients.
"We're not completely surprised by this. Most of our students live in shared living situations or in a larger group situation," Orman said.
Van Orman said those situations are more likely to encourage the spread of the flu.
University Health Services said that about 90 percent of the flu cases seen there are are believed to be H1N1, but it is still too early to say for sure.
Dr. Thomas Schlenker, director of Public Health-Madison & Dane County, said the predicted fall outbreak of H1N1 cases has begun in Dane County.
"And this is coming probably sooner than most of us had expected and certainly sooner than we would have wished, but I think were in it," Schlenker said.
Schlenker said because UW-Madison is centrally located within the city, it's expected that its H1N1 cases will spread quickly now to all other segments of the county population.
Schlenker said the good news is that the new flu appears to be mild, taking only a few days to run its course without any kind of special medication.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/20821679/detail.html
Some Routine Appointments Being Postponed
Updated: 8:56 am CDT September 10, 2009
Madison Wis. -- On the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, so many students are visiting University Health Services with flu symptoms that a so-called "surge plan" has been put into effect.
The nearly 200 students patients coming in with possible flu means that some routine visits have been postponed.
"Physical exams, high blood pressure, gynecology exams -- those sort of things (are being put on hold)," said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, of University Health Services.
University Health Services staff members have been working extra hours to deal with the influx of patients.
"We're not completely surprised by this. Most of our students live in shared living situations or in a larger group situation," Orman said.
Van Orman said those situations are more likely to encourage the spread of the flu.
University Health Services said that about 90 percent of the flu cases seen there are are believed to be H1N1, but it is still too early to say for sure.
Dr. Thomas Schlenker, director of Public Health-Madison & Dane County, said the predicted fall outbreak of H1N1 cases has begun in Dane County.
"And this is coming probably sooner than most of us had expected and certainly sooner than we would have wished, but I think were in it," Schlenker said.
Schlenker said because UW-Madison is centrally located within the city, it's expected that its H1N1 cases will spread quickly now to all other segments of the county population.
Schlenker said the good news is that the new flu appears to be mild, taking only a few days to run its course without any kind of special medication.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/20821679/detail.html
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