Emergency departments and urgent care facilities throughout North Texas are overwhelmed with a large influx of patients with the flu.
In the last 24 hours, the Cook Children’s Emergency Department in Fort Worth has treated nearly 700 patients.
Dr. Stephanie Felton, the attending physician at Cook Children’s, stated, “Which is just an astronomical number. Every year, we obviously see the flu. This year, I will say, that we’re seeing an abundance of it, as far as the numbers.”
Children’s Health, which mostly provides services to kids in Dallas and Collin Counties, has also reported an increase.
Last week, the healthcare system reported 783 cases of the flu, which is an 83% rise compared to the previous week.
The DFW Hospital Council states that there is currently enough open bed space in non-pediatric hospitals because most flu cases are handled in doctors’ offices or urgent care facilities.
On the other hand, the number of cases in emergency departments is rising.
In the past week, Medical City Healthcare’s emergency departments have experienced a 10% increase in flu visits, with a positive rate of 35%.
According to doctors, the flu can cause a variety of symptoms.
“People coming in from anything from just a fever, coughing, congestion, vomiting and diarrhea, malaise,” Felton stated. “So just body aches in general, not feeling well. Those are the most obvious symptoms and we’re seeing a ton of them.”
Most people can treat the flu at home, which usually lasts for five to seven days.
“We try to get to every patient as quickly as we can, but there is an abundance of patients that are coming in through our doors, so really assess your child before you come into the emergency department for a few things: Dehydration, prolonged fever, fever for five days, or respiratory distress – breathing very fast, breathing very hard,” Felton stated, “Those are indications that you have to come to the emergency department. Other than that, try to utilize the other resources as far as your primary care physician and urgent care.”
Doctors also emphasize the need of all the usual prevention strategies to stop the spread of illness, such as washing your hands often, cleaning surfaces that are shared with others, and staying home from school or work if you are sick.
“This is something that’s being reported in the Dallas County Health Department and also nationwide – flu activity is peaking at this time,” Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Control at Children’s Health Plano stated. “Remember, fever-free for 24 hours to go back to school or daycare.”
Parents in North Texas report that the flu is causing a large number of absences from their children’s schools.
After students returned from winter break on January 6, Mesquite ISD recorded 18 flu cases. After two weeks, that figure rises to 210. In order to guarantee sufficient substitute personnel, the district has teamed up with an outside business.
According to that agency, there has been a rise in teacher absenteeism, with many attributing this to illness.
In a statement, the district stated that, “Mesquite ISD’s operations team has conducted deep cleaning at targeted campuses with higher absence rates and is proactively planning to extend these measures across all schools.”
According to Dallas ISD, attendance has been mediocre lately, and the district’s health department has not reported any outbreaks or a significant number of illnesses.
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In order to guarantee that all kids and their families had access to vaccinations, the District also organized a flu clinic in the autumn on all campuses.
Every year starting in August, all employees, students, and family members are welcome to visit any flu vaccination clinic in the district.
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