Suggestion from Saint Joseph's Hospital

The H1N1 Flu has raised a lot of concerns, particularly in schools. Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center asks that you please review the attached release. It contains valuable information, some of which is school-specific, to help not only ease those concerns but also help us alleviate much of the overcrowding in Emergency Rooms throughout Michiana as a result of those concerns. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Please continue to remind students to wash their hands with warm water and soap or an alcohol-based hand cleaning solution, sneeze or cough into their elbow or a tissue, avoid contact with people who are ill, and if they are feeling ill to please stay home. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact SJRMC's Public Relations Manager, Mike Stack, at 247-8786. Your cooperation is very much appreciated.

SJRMC Reminds Community to Follow CDC Guidelines for H1N1
Before Seeking Emergency Room Care

Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center reminds the entire community that those with flu-like symptoms should stay home and avoid contact with others, except to get medical care from their primary healthcare provider.

That is one of the main messages the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conveying on its website, www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu, and SJRMC asks the community to adhere to this, and other CDC guidelines, to alleviate its overcrowded Emergency Room, due to H1N1 Flu concerns.

The CDC and SJRMC recommend you should not go to the Emergency Room if you are only mildly ill.

"The Emergency Department should be utilized by the significantly ill,” said Dr, Steven Gable, SJRMC’s Vice President of Medical Quality Improvement. “If people are experiencing flu-like symptoms, but the symptoms are not severe, they should stay home, get plenty of rest, and drink lots of fluids. Coming to the ER in these situations would only spread the disease."

Those who go to Emergency Rooms and are not sick with the flu are at risk of catching it from those who do have it, according to the CDC’s website.

The CDC’s website provides a wide range of information regarding what to do if you get sick, as well as information for specific groups including schools http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/ , parents, pregnant women, and there is even an evaluation link www.flu.gov/evaluation, where users can evaluate their possible symptoms. The CDC can also be reached at 1-800-CDC-INFO.

SJRMC urges the entire community to consult primary healthcare providers or the CDC at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu or at 1-800-CDC-INFO before immediately deciding to use Emergency Rooms.