If it seems like a lot of people have been sick lately, you’re not imagining things.
Hospital officials said Wednesday that this flu season is the most severe they’ve seen in the past couple of years, and the local health care systems are asking the public to help reduce the burden on the emergency departments.
“This is not a happy flu year for our hospitals across our region,” said Dr. Michael Apostolakos, chief medical officer for UR Medicine Strong Memorial and Highland hospitals. “Right now, people are becoming much more ill from the flu than they are COVID.”
Apostolakos said as of Wednesday, Strong had 71 people hospitalized with the flu, with seven in the intensive care unit. He said such a surge of cases traditionally occurs in January or February, and the severity of illness may be due to the new H3N2 variant.
“We asked the community once again to help us,” Apostolakos said. “Help our healthcare systems that are overburdened with patients in our emergency rooms.”
Officials from both Rochester Regional and UR Medicine said the public can assist with the overcrowding by getting a flu shot, which is still the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization. And come to the emergency room only if you're critically ill.
“We understand that patient don't always know, from their own symptoms, what is the best setting to be seen,” said Dr. Robert Mayo, chief medical officer for Rochester Regional Health. “But this is why it's important for patients to understand that they should, if they're sick, call their primary care office before they just decide to jump up and go to the ED.”
Both institutions are strongly encouraging anyone who visits local hospitals and other medical facilities to wear a mask.
