Staff writer
ttjohnso@observer-reporter.com
Influenza has a grip on the area, and hospitals in Washington and Greene counties are feeling the effects.
On average, 90 patients visit the emergency department at Monongahela Valley Hospital every day.
"We've been running about 120 patients a day," said Kurt Weber, hospital spokesman. "That's significantly higher."
Brenda Walther, medical director of the department, noted this season it's not just the number of cases but the acuteness of symptoms that require additional tests.
Joy Eggleston, director of marketing and public relations at Southwest Regional Medical Center, said the emergency department and hospital are busy.
"Our house is full, and we're seeing high volumes through the ED," Eggleston said of the 73-bed private hospital in Waynesburg.
The main complaints are respiratory, and the problems are not limited to patients.
"Whenever we're full, the staff is to capacity," she said. "We are making sure we are providing the best care, but we are having some trouble staffing. Some have called off, but the patients are not suffering."
Weber said Mon Valley is often at capacity, with the census fluctuating. Of the roughly 200 beds, 180 are usually filled.
Dr. David Fuchs, medical director of the emergency department at Washington Hospital, said there has been an upswing in influenza cases in the past three weeks.
"The flu struck later than we thought it would," Fuchs said. "We were looking for it in December, but it waited until February to hit us." The good news, Fuchs said, is that flu cases may have peaked.
He's seeing more complaints among younger patients and full-blown influenza in patients who received the flu vaccine. Cases are equally distributed between men and women.
At Canonsburg General Hospital, visits to the emergency room are up 31 percent from the same time last year, said spokeswoman Kim Manko. The increase is attributed to flu-like symptoms and weather-related injuries.
Not only are there more patients, but they are sicker, Manko said.
As for admissions, the inpatient volume is up by 14 percent when compared to last year, Manko said, adding most are suffering from respiratory problems. There are no staffing problems.
Washington and Greene counties do not have health departments. The closest local statistics are from Allegheny County.
"Influenza is much higher than usual," said Guillermo Cole, Allegheny County spokesman. "Last year was a milder season, and this is certainly worse than last year and probably worse than a typical season."
At this time last year, Cole said there were 15 cases confirmed through tests conducted in a laboratory. The season ended with 46 confirmed cases. This year, 188 cases of flu have been confirmed, and six weeks remain in the season.
Suspected cases are those reported from rapid tests performed in a physician's office or a hospital emergency department. As of Wednesday, there were 708 suspected cases, up from 65 last year.
"And we still have another month or two to go. We can see influenza into April," Cole said.
One reason for the increase in cases is that the current vaccine is only about 40 percent effective against the different viruses.
"Two new strains are not in this vaccine, Type A Brisbane and Type B Yamagata," Cole said.
The best advice doctors can give: Wash hands frequently and stay away from those who are ill.