The arrival of spring means fewer flu cases at Windsor Regional Hospital.
The hospital is coming off one of the busiest influenza seasons in recent memory, and the board of directors is studying the impact the flu season had on hospital operations.
The flu season figured into a giant spike in monthly acute patient days for January and February of this year, peaking at 14,840 in January alone, according to figures presented to the board Thursday night.
WRH President and CEO David Musyj says that spike is reflected in the unusually busy operation of both the Metropolitan and Ouellette campuses this winter.
"That had to do with, clearly, the influenza season," says Musyj. "We saw that as people were, unfortunately, sick, and those who were sick had to stay a little bit longer than traditionally."
The hospital experienced stretches of multiple days in which capacity was exceeded. Despite that, visits to the emergency department were lower than the previous year.
Musyj says that number is misleading since it reflects the entire year and not just the flu season.
"Overall for the year, it's gone down. What we've seen though is for the months of January and February, the volumes are the highest ever," says Musyj. "So, it caught up."
Musyj says it does not necessarily mean more people heeded the advice of the hospital and only visited the emergency room as a last resort, but that more patients are going to their family doctor, a walk-in clinic or urgent care centre for treatment first.
Regardless of the flu season itself, Musyj says the hospital was prepared for it and rolled with it as needed. He praises the staff for its professionalism in handling the crunch.
Even as the flu season winds down, Musyj says a second wave of the stomach and respiratory flu is moving through the community, affecting patients and some hospital staff. However, the patients affected by this second wave tend to be those stricken with the flu earlier this year since their immune systems may be compromised.
