Hospitals are making changes, preparing for an influx of patients with flu-like symptoms. Emergency departments have set up separate areas to handle patients with possible cases of the H1N1 virus.
A brand new facility has opened at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Doctors expect it will be full of patients in the coming weeks.
"We set up a new separate triage area to sort out the particular problems so the patients come in right away and give us their symptoms, so we can figure out where they should go and who they should be seen by," said Dr. Brian Browne, Chief of Emergency Medicine, the University of Maryland Medical Center.
The idea is to segregate possible cases of the H1N1 virus to sort out symptoms and prevent it from spreading. There has been a sharp increase in the number of patients with the flu, but so far the volume is not overcrowding the hospital.
"This is to see them quicker and faster as opposed to getting caught up in the rest of the emergency department and also to protect our other patients from this communicable disease," said Dr. Browne.
Hospitals in the area are also looking ahead. There are frequent conversations going on for how to handle facilities if they’re at capacity.
At Johns Hopkins, the executive director of critical event preparedness says doctors may have to change the type of care that is typically expected.
"Instead of having a standard number of patients per nurse or a standard number of patients per doctor, they may be taking care of more than their normal number of patients," said Jim Scheulen.
Right now, the attention is on preparedness and prevention. If fewer people are sick because they agreed to the vaccine, wore a face mask in appropriate areas and washed their hands frequently, then hospitals may never need a contingency plan.
