About 200 patients visit the hospital’s emergency room on a typical winter day. Over the last few days, the hospital has seen an average of about 250 patients, according to Patrick Moody, a spokesman for Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
“We are seeing significant volumes, but we are managing them,” he told The Signal.
The high patient volumes are due to especially virulent forms of influenza A and B, which are sickening Americans for longer and harder than usual, according to Darrin Privett, MD, an emergency room physician at Henry Mayo. If patient volumes keep increasing, the hospital will create a tented triage area near the ER’s main entrance to manage the influx.
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