FLU BUG HAS HOSPITALS, THEIR STAFFS FEELING PAIN.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

As if Los Angeles County were at war, the region's flu epidemic has swamped area hospitals with patients, leading to shortages of beds and of staff members, who are calling in sick with the same nasty bug.

In a sign of the outbreak's dramatic assault, a survey released Monday revealed that local medical centers treated more patients during the last week of December 1997 than during all of December 1996.

``That says it all right there,'' said Brian Greene, a spokesman for the Healthcare Association of Southern California, which surveyed 33 hospitals in Los Angeles County.

``The increase was not all due to the flu but it gives you a good picture of what is happening in the hospitals,'' he said.

For a glimpse of the front lines, consider Glendale Adventist Medical Center, where as many as 120 patients are now streaming into the emergency room during a 12-hour shift compared to the average of about 80.

Nearly all of Glendale Adventist's 255 in-patient beds are taken up by people suffering from flu-like symptoms, such as high fever, sore throat and respiratory problems, doctors said.

So bad is the bed shortage that doctors said they have had to keep patients in the emergency room for several hours because of a shortage of space in the intensive care unit.

``It is not really an optimal situation,'' said Dr. Cheryl Lee, an emergency room physician. ``It is not just our hospital that is having these problems. It is all over.''

Adding to the strain on capacity at Glendale Adventist is the fact that many doctors and nurses are going home sick with the flu themselves, said Lee, who caught the bug and had to take a few days off in late December.

To deal with the staff shortage, the hospital has called in doctors on vacation, as well as physicians in a residency program.

Despite efforts to fill in all the holes, Lee said the illness has been so widespread that the hospital recently could not fill some precious empty beds because too many nurses in that unit were sick.

``It has been really bad,'' Lee said. ``There have been nights when we have been really scrambling.''

Greene said the survey conducted by the association, a regional trade and advocacy organization serving member hospitals, found that many hospitals have been dogged by similar problems.

Maximum capacity

About 75 percent of the hospitals contacted, including facilities in Ventura, Orange and Riverside counties, were operating at maximum capacity in late December, the survey said. What's more, Los Angeles County reported a fivefold increase in diversion hours or the period during which hospitals were unable to accept new patients.

Dr. Eric Darr, a specialist in infectious diseases at Cedars Sinai, said this year's flu season has been particularly difficult, especially for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

``It's been unbelievable this season. This hospital is literally bursting at the seams.''

Although Greene said hospitals report the situation has eased slightly since last month, many health experts say the flu season usually peaks in late January or early February, suggesting the worst might not be over.

``We are waiting for the next wave to come,'' Greene said.

A spokesman for Kaiser Permanente said the organization's hospitals in Woodland Hills and Panorama City actually have seen a decline in admissions in the past week.

But the demand for beds at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank shows no signs of letting up yet, said Caroline Esparza, the hospital's operations director of acute patient care.

``We have been pretty full consistently,'' Esparza said. ``We have had a couple of times when half a dozen beds have opened up and we were pretty excited about that.''

To ensure that patients most in need of hospitalization get a bed, Esparza said the medical center's staff has set up an intensive triage system, requiring key staff members to meet at least three times a day.

Patients who can go home or to other treatment facilities are discharged while others requiring hospitalization remain.

``This gathering of forces three or four times a day is unique,'' Esparza said.

Even equipment has come up short with all the flu cases, forcing the hospital to rent a ventilator for patients with respiratory illnesses, Esparza said.

A clear culprit

So far, the only clear culprit in the epidemic is Influenza A Wuhan, a strain that has been predominant in the world since 1967. Infectious disease specialists still are checking to see whether a new strain called Influenza A Sydney, blamed in two cruise ship outbreaks, has made its way to Southern California.

Although many health officials believe this flu outbreak could be the worst in 15 years, John Schunhoff, the county's acting director of public health, said the number of people who have died from the flu or flu-related illnesses in 1997 was lower than 1996 figures.

Schunhoff said viruses other than the flu going around have also prompted many area residents to seek medical help, making this latest flu season a heavy one.

To ease the burden on the area's hospitals, doctors are urging residents to call their physicians before their symptoms worsen to the point they need to go to the hospital.

Avoid things like alcohol, smoking, the outdoors in cold weather, which can weaken resistance to the flu, doctors said.

``Take care of yourself,'' Lee said.

Daily News Staff Writer Jennifer Knight contributed to this story.