While hospital officials say they began preparing for the potential H1N1 epidemic almost two years ago, they still are finding themselves in a challenging position.
"We're actually surprised at how quickly it seems to be ramping up," said CEO Jim Gardner at Thursday's meeting of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. "But each day is a challenge for us; we're seeing more and more new cases."
Dane Henry, Vice President of Support Services for Northeast Georgia Health Systems, addressed the gathering, saying that the hospital, as directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is no longer testing every patient that presents flu symptoms for the H1N1 virus.
He did note that the outbreak is what he called "static," and that the hospital is able to handle the volume of patients it is seeing who do have flu symptoms.
Henry and Gardner both confirmed that the hospital is closing all but six of the hospital's 16 entrances in an effort to protect the public and hospital employees from additional illnesses. NGHS already has restricted hospital visits by the public.
Gardner said, too, that more than 70 health system employees have been diagnosed with H1N1 this season, and that has put somewhat of a strain on staffing, since all of those employees were out of work for at least seven days.
Jim Gardner
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