Patients treated in hallways when Worcester hospital fills up

WORCESTER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- The flu has hit Central Massachusetts in full force and both major hospitals are at full capacity.

Elective surgeries at UMass Memorial were canceled last week because of a lack of beds and over the holidays, and pediatric intensive care unit was closed because it was full. Our Heather Hegedus was at the hospital Friday and learned more about why the flu is in full force this season.

Katrice Endo, a Holden resident who has the flu, said she has been extremely nauseous and feels very weak.

"I haven't had a flu in 5 or 6 years, so it's been pretty bad," she said.

Endo spent 6 hours in the ER of St. Vincent's hospital Friday. Doctors gave her an IV, but not before she sat in the waiting room for an hour and a half.

"It's crazy in there," she said.

Both St. Vincent's and UMass Memorial Medical Center have been inundated with flu cases in the past week.

Dr. Richard Ellison of the Infectious Diseases Division at UMass Memorial says there have been 37 confirmed cases of the flu since Tuesday. They barely saw any flu cases at their hospital until the middle of December, but now they're at the height of it.

"I'd definitely say we're really at a peak level and I'd expect it's going to stay at this level for several more weeks," he said.

When asked if the cold weather was a factor in the increase, Ellison said, "It will spread further in the air when the weather is cold and dry which is exactly what we're seeing right now. Our hands, everyone's skin is dry and that's the perfect conditions for the virus to spread."

Flu rates are so bad right now that both hospitals say they're at capacity. At St. Vincent's, some of their less critical patients are being treated on beds in hallways.

"Only certain patients are placed on stretchers in hallways. Those who are generally not that sick and don't need cardiac monitoring for example, so it's not the ideal situation," Dr. Douglas Waite, St. Vincent's chief medical officer, said.

Experts at both hospitals maintain getting your flu shot, even now, is the best way to avoid landing in the ER, despite everything we've heard about this year's shot not being as effective as in years past.

Cox Media Group