If you've been dealing with an illness over the last several weeks, you're far from alone: Respiratory illness rates are high, some schools have closed and some area hospitals were put on diversion status to manage the influx of patients.
The Fairfield Township Professional Firefighters Local 5276 posted Tuesday night on Facebook that multiple area hospitals are currently on diversion status. Due to the number of patients, Fairfield said hospitals are asking EMS to only bring patients experiencing life-threatening situations to their facility. The department said this also means significant wait times for non-critical or non-urgent patients.
If you're experiencing a medical emergency, you should still call 911, and Fairfield's firefighters said that the hospitals are trained to triage the right patients.
“Patients can expect longer wait times for non-emergent issues," Tiffany Mattingly with the Health Collaborative told WCPO Wednesday. "If you don’t feel well and all you’re looking for is to know, confirm if you have the flu. You can buy flu tests over the counter. You can get the over-the-counter flu test, fever-reducing medication, hydrate, rest.”
Currently, influenza cases are surging across the nation, with Ohio in the "very high" category, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Emergency department visits are "very high" for diagnosed influenza. Indiana was listed as "high" for flu while Kentucky was only in the moderate range.
According to the Ohio Department of Health's website, the southwest region of Ohio has 65 influenza hospitalizationsas of the week ending on Jan. 25. Central Ohio saw the highest number of flu-associated hospitalizations, with 154 that same week.
According to data from the Ohio Department of Health's website, hospitalizations due to the flu are trending upward compared to the five-year average for the entire state.
Influenza is not the only illness Tri-State households are experiencing: We asked viewers on WCPO's Facebook page what illnesses are affecting them. Many responded, saying they were suffering from influenza A. Others said they were experiencing COVID-19, RSV, Norovirus, and pneumonia, among other unknown ailments.
In recent weeks, some school districts have closed due to illnesses.
Edgewood schools in Butler County closed for the rest of this week due to illness among staff and students. Middletown Christian Schools also closed last week because of sickness. Newport Independent canceled in-person classes for two days due to a rise in flu and stomach virus cases. Calvary Christian School in Covington also had to close because of illnesses. Adams County Ohio Valley School District was closed Monday due to illnesses, as well.
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According to the CDC's website, the number of acute respiratory illnesses causing people to seek health care is high in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Respiratory illnesses include everything from the common cold to severe infections like RSV, COVID-19, and influenza.
We called Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Tri-Health and UC Health, and all said they are not actively dealing with any capacity issues, but that can change from moment to moment.
Cincinnati Children's left the following tips for navigating this sick-filled time:
- Expect long waits at Cincinnati Children’s Emergency Departments at the main Burnet Campus in Avondale and the Liberty Campus in Butler County – unless your child has a critical or life-threatening issue.
- If you just want a flu test, contact your primary care provider.
- If one person in your home has tested positive for flu, assume anyone else there who gets sick also has the flu. They don’t need to be tested.
- If you suspect your child has the flu but they are breathing well, have been drinking enough water and are urinating as normal, they don’t need emergency care.
- Check with your child’s primary care provider for advice. Virtual urgent care is an option if you don’t have a primary care provider or one isn’t available.
- Consider using Cincinnati Children’s virtual urgent care service, which is an on-demand video visit available 24/7 from the comfort of your home. No appointment needed; wait times tend to be much shorter: https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/locations/cincykids-health-connect[cincinnatichildrens.org](Or access virtual urgent care by downloading CincyKids Health Connect from Apple Store or Google Play)
- Get your child vaccinated against flu now. It is safe and effective.
- Don’t send kids to school or daycare when they are sick.
Children's said to seek medical care for your child if they have:
- Trouble breathing
- Trouble keeping down liquids
- Vomiting and you have concerns about dehydration
- Or they are not responding normally to you
Health officials also told WCPO that it's important to take steps to protect the elderly, who are some of the most vulnerable when it comes to respiratory illness.
“If they’re not ingesting or tolerating fluids; there’s a severe risk of dehydration in the elderly," Mattingly said. "So that’s one that can cause confusion pretty quickly and fatigue pretty quickly in an elderly patient. So those are some things to look at. And then of course [if] they’re having difficulty breathing, if their lips or their finger or face are turning blue, You might hear some audible wheezing. Those are some concerns from a respiratory perspective.”
Tri-Health issued the following statement about the rise in illnesses:
Hospital visits typically rise this time of year due to respiratory-related illnesses including the flu. No patients visiting a Tri-Health hospital are turned away. It’s important before a patient visits an emergency department they consider their symptoms; primary care physician offices, TriHealth Clinic at Walgreens locations and priority care centers are all equipped to treat mild and moderate illnesses and may have shorter wait times than emergency departments.
St. Elizabeth's Hospital said they are not on diversion, and that while a high demand for emergency care is "not unusual at this time of year," the hospital said in a statement that "an unusually active flu and RSV season is a big factor" in the demand for care.
The statement went on to say:
"We encourage people who are feeling ill to reach out to their primary care provider or call the St. Elizabeth Physician’s Nurse Now phone triage line at 1-888-478-3669 for advice on the best care option for their condition. Patients may also access walk-in care at one of St. Elizabeth Physician’s four urgent care centers for more acute illnesses. Unless their situation is truly emergent, people should avoid the emergency room and allow those emergent cases to get triaged appropriately.”
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