WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. -- Visits to Tri-State emergency rooms are on the rise as doctors are now seeing record numbers of sick people.
St. Elizabeth in Grant County saw 80 patients in the emergency room in one day which is a record for the hospital.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is reporting an increase of patients with flu-like symptoms nationwide.
This comes as the H1N1 vaccine is slowly trickling into doctors’ offices in Northern Kentucky.
On Thursday, 12-year-old Matthew Schirmer, of Wilder, got a shot of H1N1 vaccine. As a child with special needs, Matthew falls into the high-risk category.
"He has a genetic disorder and when he has an illness he tends to have seizures that could be life-threatening, so we try and protect him from illness at all costs," said Helen Schirmer, of Wilder.
Family practice offices in Northern Kentucky, including Pediatric Associates in Crestview Hills, have a limited supply of the H1N1 vaccine.
Nervous parents have been calling often, so the office is keeping regular updates on their
web site.
"The number of vaccines delivered so far is less than what was anticipated, so everyone I think is heightened to get their vaccine, but the delivery of the vaccine is not there," said Dr. Christopher Cunha of Pediatrics Associates.
Patients reporting flu-like symptoms from children to adults are on the rise.
St. Elizabeth in Edgewood is averaging 30-40 more patients a day. St. Elizabeth in Covington is averaging 50 or more a day.
Besides the flu, nurses and doctors are also seeing an increasing number of patients with pneumonia.
"It happens every year with the flu season. We don't know why, but this year is much worse,” said Heather Eckart, a registered nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood. “We are seeing an increase in patients with pneumonia this year, bacterial pneumonia from the flu.”
Eckart recommends patients experiencing flu-like symptoms stay at home, drink plenty of liquids and get plenty of rest.
