KIRKLAND, Wash. — In a rare move by a local hospital, EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland is taking a proactive approach to curb the spread of the flu epidemic.
Related headlines on the flu
- New vaccine from UW could end annual flu shots
- 'Man flu' is real: Research says men experience worse symptoms
- What is the flu? 17 things to know about flu symptoms, flu shot side effects and more
- Why the flu shot worked less than half the time during last year's flu season
- Flu now widespread in Washington state
The staff is now screening every visitor before they get a chance to come close to any patient and health provider.
>>Flu deaths in Washington break 100; here are counties hardest hit
A team of nurses will be standing by at four main entrances to greet visitors and ask them if they have flu symptoms that day.
If they do, they will have to wear masks if they are there to get care.
Those without a doctor’s appointment will be asked to come back when they are better.
Since the flu season started, about 100 patients with the virus have been admitted here and a number of them have died.
“We think it’s necessary to try and protect everyone,” says Sandra Kreider
She’s EvergreenHealth’s director of medical surgical nursing, infection control and prevention.
Kreider went on to say, “there are vulnerable people in the hospital and anything we can do to protect them is the right thing to do.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in 10 deaths in the U.S. right now is due to influenza or pneumonia.
And because kids are more vulnerable to the flu virus, EvergreenHealth is limiting hospital visits for anyone under 16, except in special circumstances.
This is the first time the hospital has conducted hospital-wide screening since the H1N1 flu virus outbreak in 2009.
This latest screening is set to go on indefinitely. Doctors say the flu season so far has not peaked.