Local organizations braced for H1N1

By Jennifer Huberdeau
Posted: 04/28/2009 02:41:30 AM EDT


North Adams Transcript

NORTH ADAMS -- As the number of laboratory confirmed cases of swine influenza A (H1NI) virus infections continue to rise in the United States and around the world, local hospitals and health care organizations are taking steps to keep the public aware of how to avoid infection and what to do in case of an outbreak

"We’ve been planning this for at least three years now," said Kathy Arabia, vice president of guest services for Northern Berkshire Healthcare, who has been leading the organization’s emergency and pandemic preparedness initiatives.

"We’re in constant contact with the state Department of Public Health and immediately placed links to the Center Disease Control Web site’s swine flu pages on www.nbhealthcare.org. We believe it’s very important for people to have accurate information."

On Monday, the CDC had 40 confirmed cases of swine flu in five states, including seven cases in California, two in Kansas, one in Ohio, two in Texas and 28 in New York City.

An outbreak of the avian flu a few years ago killed 250 people worldwide and pushed emergency and health care organizations to begin planning for a pandemic outbreak, which reports estimated would affect about 2 million Baystaters, with about 80,000 people in need of hospital care.

Officials at North Adams Regional Hospital and Berkshire Medical Center said contingency plans are in place should a pandemic breakout. Each


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hospital has identified a source to locate about 50 extra beds in "influenza specialty care units."
"We have identified our Hillcrest campus as our emergency site," Michael Leary, BMC spokesman, said Monday. "We have been in meetings all day concerning a possible pandemic, which the county has been planning for over the last three years. We also have information for the public on our Web site."

North Adams Regional Hospital would locate its alternate care facility at the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish Center.

"If it got to the point where we would need to limit the strain on the emergency department, we would set up triage sites in the community to keep from over crowding the hospital," Arabia said.

"Part of the whole process is a group of professionals who form the Emergency Planning Committee which will coordinate services and provide oversight for any programs put into place. The plans that will be put into place really depend on what news we hear from the CDC."

Potential plans also include the closure of schools, should infections be detected among school-age children, as has happened in New York City, which had 28 confirmed cases of swine flu Monday afternoon.

Dr. Paul Donovan, director of the NARH’s emergency department, said that preventing the spread of the swine flu is dependent on good hygiene practices and detection.

"The best thing a person can do is wash their hands often," he said.

"Unlike the avian flu, which required a person come into contact with an infected bird, this flu is spread person-to-person through water droplets. It has the potential to spread."

While the 40 confirmed cases in the United States all involved the infected person having recently visited Mexico or coming into contact with someone who had recently visited Mexico, Donovan said the flu would not be contained if certain precautions are not taken.

"This flu strain is spread by droplets from the respiratory tract and becomes airborne when someone sneezes or coughs," he said. "People should cough into their sleeves or the crook of their elbows, not their hands. They should also cover their sneezes. Hand washing is very important." He said anyone who is sick with flu symptoms -- cough, sore throat, fever, runny nose -- should stay home from work or work-at-home and avoid public places as much as possible.

"The good thing is that this flu strain is treatable with several anti-viral medications, which shorten the course of the infection," Donovan said.

He said the virus can be detected by a simple swab of the nasal passage for a viral culture.

"We can detect if a person has influenza A or B," he said. "If a person has influenza A, we’d do another culture and send it to the state to be tested for swine flu." While the results for the swine flu culture wouldn’t be available from the state for 24 to 48 hours, Donovan said the patient would be treated with anti-viral medications as a precaution and told to stay away from public places.

"It’s a matter of taking common sense measures and using good hygiene to keep this virus from spreading," he said.

As of Monday afternoon, the CDC was recommending hand washing and hygiene tips and had gone as far as suggesting the wearing of surgical-grade masks for people living in high-population areas that had confirmed cases of the flu.

"It makes sense from an epidemiological point of view," Donovan said of the masks.

For more information:

Northern Berkshire Healthcare: www.nbhealth.org

Berkshire Medical Center: www.berkshirehealthsystems.org

Center for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov/swineflu.