If there was ever a time to call your primary care doctor, it’s now.
That’s according to county and hospital system officials, who are saying if you are sick with flu-like symptoms, call your doctor before those symptoms become a crisis that requires the emergency room. Additionally, they are urging everyone to avoid the emergency room unless they are experiencing life-threatening symptoms, conditions or injuries.
Kaleida Health, Erie County Medical Center and Catholic Health all say they are overwhelmed with patients right now because of Subclade K – the strain of influenza A spreading like wildfire across the U.S.
“This year has been unprecedented,” says Kaleida Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Mineo. “We didn't necessarily anticipate this much of a spike, this aggressive of a spike that we've seen, but it's impacting all of our facilities. The net result is we have more inpatients. We have more holds in the ER, which are inpatients waiting to get a bed, and longer waits in all of our waiting rooms.”
The numbers tell the story: Dr. Mineo said for example, Buffalo General typically has 456 beds but as of Thursday afternoon 600 patients are “bedded” or being seen. ECMC reports that 93% of their 245 medical/surgical beds are occupied and 100% of their 40 critical care beds are occupied.
“It does get to the point where you start having capacity issues,” says Dr. Michael Mangione, the medical director of the Emergency Department at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. Dr. Mangione has been speaking to other doctors across the Catholic Health system, which Kenmore Mercy is a part of.
“You have patients in the hallways. You see patients waiting in the waiting room for long periods of time,” Dr. Mangione said. “You feel bad for patients. You feel bad that due to lack of treatment spaces. You feel bad that you can't get them back right away.”
Smaller hospitals are overloaded too – a Catholic Health spokesperson told BTPM NPR Thursday that at Lockport Memorial Hospital, all 10 of their beds are full, and there are seven “holds” in the emergency room. A hold typically means an inpatient is waiting for a bed.
The Sick Times, a publication that covers COVID-19 and Long COVID, pointed out in their most recent COVID national trends report on Tuesday that “healthcare system data also report increases in COVID-19 spread across much of the U.S. Test positivity and emergency department visits have not yet gone up as dramatically as wastewater levels, but this will likely change in the coming weeks.”
And locally – the combination of rising COVID-19 infections, the influenza A outbreak, and other seasonal viral illnesses are creating a troubling storm for emergency physicians.
“I have patients with flu and COVID. I have patients with flu and pneumonia. I have patients with flu [and] RSV,” said Dr. Mangione. “I had some kids with flu and strep. So, it's that time of the year in Buffalo where, you know, people are really germy, and they pass things on to each other.”
Like Kaleida and Catholic Health, ECMC is encouraging anyone who is sick and does not have life-threatening symptoms, to go to an urgent care or primary care doctor, or utilize telehealth.
“Increasing respiratory illnesses like influenza in our region are putting greater strain on our healthcare institutions, particularly Emergency Departments,” said Dr. Samuel Cloud, the chief medical officer for ECMC in a written statement to BTPM NPR. “We urge anyone experiencing non-emergency symptoms to first consult their primary care provider or visit Urgent Care.”
Most of all, if you are not sick, experts including emergency room physicians, infectious disease doctors, and public health leaders all emphasize: get your flu shot as soon as possible.
While this strain appeared four months after the vaccine was created, it could still save you a trip to the hospital, where you’re at risk of getting a secondary illness or waiting a significant amount of time for care. Less serious infections that can be cared for outside of a hospital also means emergency rooms will have more capacity for people having strokes, heart attacks, or other life-threatening incidents.
“It's important as a community that we focus on infection control. Our vaccine rates are lower. I think we all have vaccine fatigue, but vaccines save lives,” said Dr. Mineo. “You may still get it [the flu], but you'll get a much milder version of it, so please get vaccinated.”
