St. Louis area hospitals at capacity with flu cases continuing steep rise - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS — Flu cases proceed to spike crossed the St. Louis region, placing large accent connected hospitals that are already astatine oregon adjacent capacity.

“It’s posing important challenges to guarantee we tin attraction for everyone successful the community,” warned a study Wednesday by a task unit of St. Louis-area hospitals.

While cases of respiratory syncytial microorganism that overwhelmed section hospitals successful October person been dropping, they’re being replaced by a flu play that is coming accelerated and furious.

At Barnes-Jewish Hospital successful St. Louis, astir 20 to 40 patients a time are coming to the exigency section with flu-like symptoms, and 10 to 20 are having to beryllium admitted with flu, said Dr. Robert Poirier, a Washington University doc who serves arsenic the exigency department’s objective director.

“We are seeing doubly arsenic galore patients this week than we saw the week previous, and past week it was besides double” the erstwhile week, Poirier said Wednesday. “We are starting this twelvemonth with a bang.”

The situation is, Poirier said, is that the infirmary is afloat on with the exigency department, which drives up waiting times arsenic good arsenic limits the quality to transportation patients to higher levels of care.

Many patients besides can’t beryllium moved retired of the hospital, due to the fact that of workforce challenges facing nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and location wellness services.

“It backs up the full system,” helium said.

The flu play truthful acold appears to beryllium the worst since 2010 and 2011. Flu cases typically statesman a steep ascent successful December and January, but this play is seeing an antithetic leap successful October and November.

During the week of Nov. 19, the latest information available, Missouri reported astir 4,900 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu — astir treble the fig from 2 weeks anterior and already surpassing past year’s highest that came successful precocious December.

So acold this play done Nov. 19, Missouri has reported astir 13,700 cases and 3 flu-related deaths, according to authorities wellness section data. The highest rates of flu cases and infirmary visits person been among children younger than 4 years old.

Dr. Rachel Orscheln, a Washington University pediatric infectious illness specializer astatine St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said doctors are already seeing precocious numbers of children hospitalized for flu.

“We are mode supra the highest of anterior years for cases; and for hospitalizations, we are a small supra the highest of anterior years already,” Orscheln said.

With nary signs of cases leveling off, she said, “I ideate the level of hospitalizations is going to proceed to climb.”

Nationwide, determination person been astatine slightest 6.2 cardinal illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations and 2,900 deaths from flu, according the CDC.

Hospital and nationalist wellness leaders accidental they bash not cognize however precocious the numbers volition climb. And portion COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations person remained dependable implicit the past fewer months, that could besides alteration and accent infirmary capacity.

During the week starring up to Nov. 27, an mean of 770 radical a time were hospitalized with COVID-19 crossed Missouri, state information shows. Over the past 2 months, astir 20 to 50 Missourians person died each week from COVID-19.

“Because of vacation gatherings and different indoor activity, we expect much cases of RSV, COVID-19 and different respiratory infections,” the St. Louis County Department of Public Health said successful a informing issued Wednesday. “It is important that we bash each we tin to forestall the dispersed of disease.”

Doctors urged anyone implicit 6 months of property to get the flu vaccine, which is simply a bully lucifer against the strains that are circulating, and get an updated COVID-19 booster.

COVID-19 vaccinations are offered weekdays astatine the John C. Murphy Health Center successful Berkeley, the South County Health Center successful Sunset Hills and the North Central Community Health Center successful Jennings from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Flu shots are disposable astatine the 3 wellness centers from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Also, debar trips to exigency departments, wellness officials said.

Those with mild to mean cold-like symptoms tin telephone their superior attraction doctor, usage telehealth services offered by security oregon sojourn an urgent care.

Trips to the exigency country should beryllium reserved for those with trouble breathing, abrupt dizziness, terrible vomiting, dehydration, precocious fever oregon fever higher than 100.4 for infants younger than 8 weeks.

“We are overloaded,” Poirier said, “and if you person mild symptoms you’re going to hold a agelong clip to beryllium seen due to the fact that we are engaged treating those who are sicker.”