The Spokane Regional Health District said Spokane is seeing a significant increase in emergency department visits in the area due to flu and respiratory diagnosis.
SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Spokane Regional Health District said Spokane is seeing a significant increase in emergency department visits due to flu and respiratory diagnosis.
Recently 14.6% of people in the emergency department tested positive for a respiratory illness like the flu. The Spokane Regional Health District starts to alert when the positivity rate reaches 13.4%. Officials with SRHD tell KREM 2 News they expect that number to reach 20% at the peak of flu season.
Mark Springer, communicable disease program manager with SRHD, said the district has recorded two influenza-related deaths this flu season and is seeing hospitalizations trend upward.
He added, even if people already had the flu, they can still be vulnerable to other strains, so taking precautions is encouraged.
“We are at the stage where people can make a difference in terms of preventing flu entering their households or reducing the risk of catching flu,” Springer said. “We want people to look at the things they can control in terms of their health and family’s health.”
MultiCare health provider Dr. Sarah d’Hulst urges patients not to wait and to seek care as soon as symptoms appear. She noted early diagnosis can shorten the duration of illness and prevent further complications.
To help providers move more quickly with care, Dr. d’Hulst said, people can use at-home tests for Flu A, Flu B, and COVID-19.
As of January 2nd, MultiCare employees have been required to wear masks because of the spike in acute respiratory illnesses like the flu.
“It makes a huge difference for us being able to keep staff,” Dr. d’Hulst said. “There aren’t enough nurses, there are not enough medical assistants, there aren’t enough doctors. If everybody is getting sick it impacts us as well. This is a way for us to keep ourselves healthy so we can keep caring for our patients.”
In Idaho, the Panhandle Health District reports a similar trend.
Katherine Hoyer, a spokesperson for the health district says they collect flu data from the five major hospitals in the region.
“Based on that data, we are seeing a recent increase in flu activity. Flu is not a required reportable disease, so the numbers are not definitive, but give us an idea of flu activity in our area. We very recently exceeded the region 10 baseline (2.1%) for flu activity and are now at a 12% positivity rate for our area,” Hoyer said.
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