GLOVERSVILLE - Nathan Littauer Hospital has been told to "prepare for a surge" in emergency room cases if swine flu hits hard, hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Laurence Kelly said Tuesday.
Kelly, a member of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp. board, gave an affiliate report to that board at the Crossroads Business Park.
Most of his report outlined Nathan Littauer Hospital's preparations for the swine flu, known formally as the H1N1. The first cases of the swine flu virus appeared in the United States in March and April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By the end of April, the federal government declared a public health emergency. Cases of H1N1 have been since reported in all 50 states.
"The H1N1 flu is for real," Kelly said.
He said he consults with the state Department of Health, and Nathan Littauer Hospital is now being required to "prepare for a surge to our emergency room."
He said the state is also worried there won't be enough respirators and ventilators available in the United States.
"What they're making us do is really sobering," Kelly said.
The CDC Web site says health officials think swine flu spreads in the same way regular seasonal influenza viruses spread, mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus, but it also may be spread by touching infected objects and then touching one's nose or mouth. H1N1 infection has been reported to cause a wide range of flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. In addition, many people also have reported nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Kelly said figures about swine flu from the CDC - that he says aren't broadcast enough by the media - show that 35,000 Americans die annually from the regular flu and that another 35,000 will also die this season from swine flu.
"The numbers are really pretty sobering," Kelly said.
He said Nathan Littauer Hospital has a mandate from the state that all its employees and volunteers receive regular flu vaccinations by Nov. 30. He said about 300 employees were vaccinated Tuesday and about the same amount were due to be vaccinated today.
Kelly said 90 percent of the deaths caused by the regular "seasonal" flu are people older than 65. But he said with swine flu, only 8 percent of the deaths are expected to be people older than 65, with the remaining 92 percent mostly people 24 to 65 years of age.
Kelly said the government is not trying to scare people about swine flu, but make the public more aware.
"You can see how it's going to change a lot [of people's awareness of the flu]," he said.
Kelly said "nobody" has the actual swine flu vaccine yet.
"We probably won't for three more weeks," Kelly said.
Officials at St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam say they've been meeting on the swine flu every week for the past three weeks, sometimes twice a week.
"I think we're prepared," Dr. Timothy Shoen, the hospital's vice president of medical affairs, said today.
He said St. Mary's Hospital is also vaccinating its employees and volunteers for the seasonal flu.
"I think all hospitals in New York state have been put on alert," Shoen said. "I think the availability [of vaccines] is exceeding what they said a couple months ago."
Shoen said St. Mary's Hospital will first wait and see what the effect of the seasonal flu is, but also has primary care facilities it will keep in touch with. He said the hospital will keep in close contact with the Montgomery Public Health Department and will make all its resources available to the community, such as Fulton-Montgomery Community College.
Shoen noted there was a shortage of vaccines a few years ago, which allowed St. Mary's Hospital to prepare even more for the future. He said that planning will help with a pandemic flu situation now "more likely."
Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com.