Corpus Christi: Local Man Dies From A/H1N1 Flu

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11276765

Local Man Dies From Swine Flu

Updated: Oct 7, 2009 05:44 PM
Inside KRISTV.COM

CORPUS CHRISTI - Local health officials said a man died Friday as a result of the swine flu virus.

The man's death is the seventh swine flu death to be confirmed this year and the third death in just over a week. There is no information being released about the latest swine flu death other than it involved a man in his late fifties.

He died at a local hospital.

[Pathfinder]

Re: Corpus Christi: Local Man Dies From A/H1N1 Flu

Swine flu victim ordered to leave ER

October 08, 2009 11:17 AM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) ?

The mother of a man who died of swine-flu-related illness says her son was asked to leave a Corpus Christi hospital emergency room the day before.

Opal Range tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that her 58-year-ols son, Irving Neil Range, was found lying on the emergency room floor at Christus Spohn Hospital-Memorial on Oct. 1, too ill sit in a chair. She said her son told her that he went home after the security guard asked him to leave, but he returned to the emergency room Friday and

Nueces County health officials confirmed Wednesday that the Corpus Christi man died in the emergency room Friday of swine-flu related illness.

A hospital spokeswoman said she didn't know the specifics of Range's case, but that their security guards don't ask people to leave unless they become belligerent.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/ordered-103422-christi-swine.html

[Shiloh]

Re: Corpus Christi: Local Man Dies From A/H1N1 Flu

Source: http://www.kztv10.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=9704

Homeless Man Dies After Second Trip To Hospital, Sparking Questions -
Family members and shelter friends are mourning the loss of 58-year-old Irving Neil Range, a homeless man who died in the Emergency Room at Christus Spohn Memorial Medical Center on Friday.
Officials say the swine flu caused him to die, but the circumstances surrounding his death have more than a few people asking questions and wondering if his death could have been prevented.
"As soon as I saw him, just looking at him, I knew he needed an ambulance by the way he looked. He was sweating, hunched over, and could barely talk," said Rafael Ortiz, the Labor Force Manager for the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
Shelter worker Rafael Ortiz was the last person, other than medical workers, who saw Irving Neil Range alive.
Shelter workers say he came back to the Rescue Mission after waiting for hours in the Emergency Room at Christus Spohn Hospital Friday evening.
"He said while he was waiting to be seen, he was sitting in the chair , having trouble breathing. He decided to lay down on the ground, and the only thing that would help him breathe well. He wasn't laying there long, when a security guard came and told him he had to move along and he said he didn't want to argue with the guy and he'd already been there so long, he just decided to come back here," said Mark Martin, the Front Desk Manager at the Mission.
We talked to Irving's brother on the phone. He says he and other family members are still mourning Irving's death and did not want to talk on camera, but he did tell us about the run-in Irving had with the security guard at the hospital and says his brother got so weary after waiting more than four hours for the result of an X-Ray and blood work that was taken in the ER that Irving just decided to leave the hospital.
"Everyone needs to be taken care of right now, but this man was obviously sick, very, very sick. I would have hoped that they would have put him on a bed in a hallway something like that, if they couldn't get him into a room," said Carole Murphrey, Director of Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
Irving's brother says he ended up dying in the Christus Spohn Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room Friday morning after being taken by ambulance back to the hospital.
Although Irving Range did not have a permanent address, Rescue Mission workers say he had plenty of friends and has left behind a lasting impression on those who knew him.
"I've had a couple of people distraught and have had a couple people say is there something I can do to help? Can you pass condolences on to his family and it's not like lives weren't touched by his presence and passing as well," Martin said.

[Chuck]

Re: Corpus Christi: Local Man Dies From A/H1N1 Flu

http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11283381

Swine Flu Cases Double

Updated: Oct 8, 2009 04:29 PM
Inside KRISTV.COM

CORPUS CHRISTI - The man who died of swine flu last Friday has been identified as 58-year-old Irving Neal Range of Rockport.

Health officials said Range got pneumonia as a result of the swine flu and died from the illness last Friday.

Doctors said they don't believe Range had any pre-existing medical conditions.

His mother, Opal Range said he went to the emergency room Thursday at Christus Spohn Memorial but after waiting four hours, he came home, but went back the next day.

Opal said her son passed away later that afternoon. Irving was buried at sea earlier this week.

Irving is the seventh person locally to die of swine flu. His death was the third swine flu death in just over a week.

Dr. William Burgin with the City-County Health Department said the number of swine flu cases has doubled in just the past week. He also said schools are reporting more absences. The health department predicted there would be higher numbers of the flu this fall once classes started again.

Burgin said most swine flu cases have been mild, but the threat of something more serious is always a concern.

"As long as there's more flu, there will be more deaths, but so far there's been no change in the mutation of the virus, there's been no change in resistance from the virus," Burgin stated.

With Halloween a few weeks away, the health department said people who are sick should turn off their front porch lights on Halloween night so kids don't trick-or-treat there.

Parents should make sure their children wash their hands before they eat any candy.

The health department will be holding pre-registration Friday at 8 a.m. for the first 500 doses of the swine flu vaccine. This first batch will only be for children ages two to five-years-old.

Pre-registration will be held at the health department at 1702 Horne Road. Parents do not need to bring their children with them Friday.