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Published: September 30, 2009 3:00 a.m.
H1N1 diagnosis drive-through
Hospitals say trend in treatment likely won?t catch on here
Devon HaynieThe Journal Gazette
Associated Press
Fort Wayne ?
Northeast Indiana hospital officials say they have no plans to offer drive-up or drive-through service for swine flu screenings, even though the practice is catching on in some areas.
?I guess anything?s possible, but we have not talked about that at all,? said Betty Brown, chief quality and patient safety officer for Parkview Health. ?Things would have to really change in our region.?
Some hospitals are opening drive-throughs and drive-up tent clinics to screen and treat a swelling tide of swine flu patients nationwide.
The idea behind these efforts is to keep coughing, feverish people out of regular emergency rooms, where they can infect heart attack victims and already-sick patients. The need has soared in recent weeks as the H1N1 flu virus has spread among schoolchildren before a vaccine is available.
In Austin, Texas, Dell Children?s Medical Center had nearly 400 ER visits on Sunday alone, mostly children with swine flu. Dozens were diverted to two tents outside, and there are plans to add a third.
In Memphis, Tenn., Le Bonheur Children?s Hospital has had more than 5,500 children with flu-like illness seek emergency care since Aug. 1. The hospital set up tents on Sept. 11 and already has treated more than 900 cases in them.
Jim Bentley, policy chief at the American Hospital Association, said many hospitals are trying novel ways to care for more people than their emergency rooms can handle, especially children.
?One thing a tent offers is a less intimidating atmosphere to the child,? as opposed to an emergency room with its beeps and other noises and scary trauma cases, he said.
Parkview Health?s Brown said swine flu cases so far have been ?sporadic.? The hospital system is following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, and surgical masks are given to patients with flu-like symptoms.
Like Parkview, Lutheran Hospital has no plans to implement any drive-through or tent clinics, Lutheran Health Network spokesman Geoff Thomas said Tuesday.
Officials are closely following reports from five sentinel sites in the area ? local health care practices that provide data on influenza activity levels, strains and resistance patterns, Thomas said. They are also discussing with the Department of Health, Parkview, emergency workers and other health experts in the community plans for handling an outbreak.
H1N1 diagnosis drive-through
Hospitals say trend in treatment likely won?t catch on here
Devon HaynieThe Journal Gazette
Associated Press
Fort Wayne ?
Northeast Indiana hospital officials say they have no plans to offer drive-up or drive-through service for swine flu screenings, even though the practice is catching on in some areas.
?I guess anything?s possible, but we have not talked about that at all,? said Betty Brown, chief quality and patient safety officer for Parkview Health. ?Things would have to really change in our region.?
Some hospitals are opening drive-throughs and drive-up tent clinics to screen and treat a swelling tide of swine flu patients nationwide.
The idea behind these efforts is to keep coughing, feverish people out of regular emergency rooms, where they can infect heart attack victims and already-sick patients. The need has soared in recent weeks as the H1N1 flu virus has spread among schoolchildren before a vaccine is available.
In Austin, Texas, Dell Children?s Medical Center had nearly 400 ER visits on Sunday alone, mostly children with swine flu. Dozens were diverted to two tents outside, and there are plans to add a third.
In Memphis, Tenn., Le Bonheur Children?s Hospital has had more than 5,500 children with flu-like illness seek emergency care since Aug. 1. The hospital set up tents on Sept. 11 and already has treated more than 900 cases in them.
Jim Bentley, policy chief at the American Hospital Association, said many hospitals are trying novel ways to care for more people than their emergency rooms can handle, especially children.
?One thing a tent offers is a less intimidating atmosphere to the child,? as opposed to an emergency room with its beeps and other noises and scary trauma cases, he said.
Parkview Health?s Brown said swine flu cases so far have been ?sporadic.? The hospital system is following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, and surgical masks are given to patients with flu-like symptoms.
Like Parkview, Lutheran Hospital has no plans to implement any drive-through or tent clinics, Lutheran Health Network spokesman Geoff Thomas said Tuesday.
Officials are closely following reports from five sentinel sites in the area ? local health care practices that provide data on influenza activity levels, strains and resistance patterns, Thomas said. They are also discussing with the Department of Health, Parkview, emergency workers and other health experts in the community plans for handling an outbreak.
