Local

Some care facilities put flu patients in isolation to prevent spread

PITTSBURGH — As flu activity continues to be widespread throughout the area, some care facilities are taking steps to fight the flu for the most vulnerable victims.

Doctors are trying to stop the spread of the virus in many different ways, and some places, including the Canterbury Place Senior Center, are putting flu patients in isolated rooms to stop the spread throughout the facility.

"This certainly is the worst flu season we have seen in the last decade," Dr. David Nace, the Chief of Medical Affairs for UPMC Senior Communities, said. "It can put a person to bed for four to five days. When you're older, it's going to be much more difficult."

Nace is the doctor that all patients have to see before they're admitted. He decides if they are sent to isolation.

Inside the isolation rooms, doctors and nurses are covered from head to toe. Nace added that the isolation isn't meant to be lonely, it's keeping people safe so they can be healthy as soon as possible.

"The flu has already affected about 16,000 cases in Pennsylvania, and for every case that is confirmed, there are 10 to 100 not confirmed," Nace said.

Doctors said they encourage serious hand washing and sanitizing to help prevent the flu, and they insist if you have flu symptoms to stay home.

"When we start to see symptoms, we ask people not to visit," Sophia Campbell, director of Clinical Equality and Compliance for UPMC, said.

In Pennsylvania, there have been an estimated 40 flu-related deaths so far this season.