Urgent Care Needed Most During Community Flu Outbreaks

With many states stuck in their peak flu seasons and death tolls rising—24 people have died from influenza in the state of Washington, alone—urgent care centers are being called upon to offer twofold support: First, to administer flu shots to patients who haven’t received them and provide supportive care for those who have influenza, and second, to care for patients fleeing emergency rooms that are overflowing with flu patients. Make sure area primary care office and hospitals near your locations have the information necessary to refer patients they can’t see to you (location, phone numbers, web address, hours, breadth of services…), and increase social media and traditional marketing efforts while demand is high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 44 out of 54 regions of the country (encompassing the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) currently have “elevated” flu activity, and that 13.9% of all respiratory specimens tested are positive for an influenza strain. While the CDC does not track flu deaths in adults on a national level, the agency reports that three children have died from the flu across the country since October.