CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Walk-in urgent care centers are seeing an increased number of patients with flu-like illnesses due to an earlier active seasonal flu season and the second wave of H1N1.
And health officials say people still should go to these centers, or their primary care physicians, if they suspect they have the flu, rather than clogging up hospital emergency rooms.
"We are certainly seeing swine flu cases, there's no doubt about that," Dr. Mark Stephens, medical director of HealthPlus Urgent Care in Cross Lanes, said last week. "Patient volumes have been very high for September and starting (in) October. Not all of them are swine flu cases, but there's a lot of worry in the community about having swine flu.
"My guess is we're probably running 20 percent higher than we usually do," Stephens added. "Right after Labor Day is when it really started to pick up."
Basic treatment is anti-virals within 48 hours, which is the window of time when they are most effective.
"Otherwise we tell them to stay home," Stephens said.
Patients with suspected cases of swine flu may be isolated in a separate room, he said.
"Sometimes you don't know you have a case until it's too late," he said.
"We try to isolate them in a room," Stephens said. "We always offer all our patients masks to wear. We have stressed the importance of frequent and good hand washing and coughing into your arm or sleeve so you won't spread the germs elsewhere."
Staff members are handling the influx well but are tired, he said.
"It's difficult; you're seeing lots more patents then you're used to seeing," Stephens said.
No patients are turned away, he said, but wait times can be long.
Swine flu vaccinations are expected to come this week, he said, adding that the center has applied to become a vaccination site.
The Cross Lanes Urgent Care is among several Charleston Area Medical Center HealthPlus centers in the area, and they are seeing increased numbers across the board, CAMC spokesman Dale Witte said.
Urgent care centers or primary care physicians are where patients with non-emergency flu symptoms should go -- not the emergency room, Witte said.
"The Health Plus (centers) are the place to go; you get in and out quicker," Witte said. "You're not sitting next to people who are coming in with chest pains, more serious things that are going to be seen before you."
CAMC itself has not yet had a big influx of flu cases, Witte said.
"We haven't seen overwhelming numbers of people with flu symptoms or flu-like illnesses," Witte said "It's just a typical mix of patients in the ERs."
The hospital has plans in place for when numbers are higher, but "so far it's kind of business as usual," Witte said.
Urgent care centers, which generally are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, are reporting more flu patients.
"We're definitely seeing an increase in patient volume and flu shots," said Erich Lipphardt, vice president of development and marketing at MedExpress Urgent Care's headquarters in Morgantown.
There is a natural increase in patient volume from August to September that is normal for this time of year, Lipphardt said.
Still, "the month of September in general was about a 20 percent increase," Lipphardt said, adding that the growth was associated with the seasonal flu being active a little bit earlier in the year and some of the H1N1 cases.
An influx in active flu has been seen across West Virginia and other urgent care locations in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Florida, he said.
"It's definitely a more active flu season earlier on than usual this year," Lipphardt said. "Everyone is seeing that across the country."
MedExpress Urgent Care has several locations in West Virginia, including Huntington, Charleston and Beckley, he said.
A new MedExpress Urgent Care is opening Oct. 21 in South Charleston, he said.
No special policies are in place at the time, Lipphardt said, and the full-service urgent cares are able to support increases in patient volume.
"A lot of what we're doing is education for our staff," Lipphardt said. "If there's increased flu activity, we want to make sure our staff is healthy.
"We all owe it to the community to remain the voice that this is cause for concern and not panic," Lipphardt said. "The main thing now is just practicing healthy habits. Wash hands. Cough into (your) elbow. Just take standard precaution. And we're here if people need us."
Contact writer Michelle Saxton at michelle.saxton@dailymail.com or 304-348-4843. To see more of the Charleston Daily Mail, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailymail.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va.