H1N1 taking a toll on hospital staff
Updated: Thursday, 15 Oct 2009, 6:41 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 15 Oct 2009, 6:41 PM EDT
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Hospitals around the state are experiencing a higher absenteeism among their employees, because of H1N1.
Community, St. Francis, and St. Vincent all say the flu has affected their staff. Methodist is experiencing the same trend.
And in an interview that 24-Hour News 8 did just minutes ago outside the emergency room, their head of infectious disease said they are beginning to rely on extra pools of employees to help out.
“They’re either calling in because they’re ill themselves or they’ve got children themselves who are ill. So again, we’ve had contingency plans in place for having health care workers who are sick, and so we have resource pools we can draw upon to backfill the staff,” said Dr. Doug Webb of Methodist Hospital.
When asked if the staff at Methodist was short right now?
Dr. Webb responded, “We’re not short but I would anticipate that uh that this is going to get worse for the next few weeks.”
All hospitals 24-Hour News 8 spoke to on Thursday say they expect more sick calls as the flu continues to spread.
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/health/H1N1_taking_a_toll_on_hospital_staff_20091015
WA:
King County Man Dies From H1N1 Flu
Posted: 5:12 pm PDT October 15, 2009
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21310662/detail.html
SEATTLE — A man in his 20s died Wednesday from complication of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and his underlying health conditions, said Public Health of Seattle and King County.
The man’s death is the first reported H1N1 death in King County this fall.
“Flu activity is increasing locally, and this tragedy is a reminder that H1N1 influenza can be a very serious illness and that people with underlying health conditions are at higher risk for severe complications and death,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health.
Fleming said the vaccine is the best protection and small shipments of the vaccine are arriving for at-risk patients. More doses will be arriving weekly to immunize a wider group of people.
The vaccine is initially being prioritized to protect people most at risk for H1N1 influenza, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The priority groups include:
- Pregnant women
- People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
- People between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old
- People between 25 through 64 years of age with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems
- Healthcare and emergency workers
Vaccine availability will be opened up to everyone who wants it as soon as supplies are sufficient to cover demand in risk groups.
In King County from April 25 to Oct. 2, there have been 82 hospitalizations of patients with H1N1 influenza. Nearly 1 in 4 required intensive care, and 3 of the 82 patients died.
Three Spokane County residents have also recently died from complications linked to Influenza A, and health officials say they are likely victims of the swine flu.
The dead include a man in his 40s, a woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s. None of three had any known underlying health problems.