Respiratory Illnesses Surge, but it’s not COVID-19 this time
Rely on past lessons to lean into future preparedness
If you have been following the news and the data trends that we are seeing in Pennsylvania, influenza A is surging in ways that we have not seen during the last seven years. Five weeks ago, we saw the numbers go down temporarily, but since then they have marched forward with increases in a growing, stepwise pattern.
Unlike the “tripledemic” we saw just a few years ago, RSV numbers are steadily decreasing and COVID-19 is only accounting for 1 percent of emergency department (ED) visits this week. Influenza A, on the other hand, is currently at 8 percent of ED visits.
As a note, the ED visits overall are not increasing in proportion to the flu trend. ED visits for respiratory symptoms are at 17 percent this week. That is the same as we were seeing the first week of January when case counts were much lower. This leads us then to look at where we are encountering these patients aside from the ED, perhaps more in the urgent care and primary care space.
We are seeing a reverse trend from early in the COVID-19 pandemic when inpatient areas were overrun with patients while outpatient clinics were seeing less patients and focusing more on testing.
We did learn some important lessons during that time though that may assist as we push through this season:
- If your trends match the statewide data, consider pediatric supplies that may continue to be used frequently and if sourcing may offer challenges.
- Consistent staffing can be difficult, either from staff illness or the need to care for family members. Cross-training in different departments may help.
- Take advantage of a pre-established surge space or extended hours to care for additional patients.
- Apply mitigation measures to decrease spread, perhaps with personal protective equipment or through filtration and air control in higher risk areas, such as waiting rooms.
By leaning forward through previous lessons learned we can continue to care for our patients and staff enduring the onslaught this influenza season. Hopefully we can continue to breakdown our strengths and weaknesses to improve our response in case another respiratory virus impacts our facilities.
And there’s always another public health issue on the horizon—like another strain of bird flu.
If you specialize in hospital emergency management or general preparedness, stay tuned in to the current respiratory virus data trends and what’s emerging each week on our HAP Emergency Management Weekly Briefings.
For more information, contact Ryan Weaver, MBA, BSN, RN, CPPS, CHEP, manager, emergency management.
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