Hospitals, Schools Prep for Swine Flu

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - With kids heading back to school nationwide, concerns about swine flu have reached a new high. The latest estimates say the virus could kill between 30,000 and 90,000 people just in the United States. As many as 1.8 million people could be hospitalized, with children and young adults most at risk.

In the D.C. area, hospitals have trained, drilled, and stockpiled medicine in preparation for a major outbreak. Even so, one doctor said an outbreak of this magnitude is frightening. On a Tuesday afternoon at Prince George's Hospital Center, FOX 5 found the ER waiting room full. Hospital staff says it's a typical day. If there's a major outbreak of swine flu the emergency room could be overwhelmed.

If it's the worst case scenario where half of all Americans are infected, Mark Arsenault, R.N., in charge of emergency preparedness said, "You start to look at patients who don't have to be admitted are sent home to take care of themselves."

Other areas of the hospital he said would be closed down and used to treat the most seriously ill. Patients in the waiting room already get anti-bacterial sanitizers and masks.

Dr. Griffin Davis, Chairman of Emergency Medicine, showed me how they handle potential H1N1 cases. Doctors would wear an N-95 mask, designed to protect against 95 percent of viruses and bacteria. Then there is another mask for patients, to keep them from spreading the virus through coughing or sneezing.

"We would give this as soon as you walked into the emergency department waiting room. This would be for anyone with a cough, respiratory symptoms, any type of fever," Dr. Davis said.

Doctors say the greatest danger for spreading swine flu, is where large numbers of people gather, like schools. That makes
the University of Maryland with it's 40,000 students and staff a potential breeding ground for the virus. The university's Vice President for Student Affairs, Linda Clement, showed us its H1N1 Virus Emergency Plan, just released today. Part of that plan called for installing automatic hand sanitizers in hallways and in lecture halls.

"They have been installed over the course of the last four months and they're in public areas," Clement said.

The university has also been briefing students and parents on swine flu during orientation throughout the summer and when students return for classes next week. In dorms, resident assistants will be giving anti-bacterial wipes to every room and talking with all students about proper hygiene and a flu shot clinic on October 15, 2009. The university plans to use Ritchie Coliseum to vaccinate 2,000 students in three hours for seasonal flu, a test run for the H1N1 virus.

Emergency plans also call for the campus to shut down if needed.

"We are... that's the last possible resort and we would consult with the state and county officials before we did that," Clement said.

Five students came down with the virus last year, so the university has some practice dealing with an outbreak.

The university plans another flu shot clinic, once the swine flu vaccine is available. That isn't expected until October, when infections may peak. The government panel is urging vaccine makers to bottle what they can to get at least some vaccine out in September.

Doctors stressed the government estimates are worst case. When FOX 5 asked Dr. Davis to put it in perspective, he said, "I don't think people should panic."

In the end, the outbreak may never reach that magnitude. But with this virus it's impossible to predict.

For a link to the University of Maryland's emergency plan for dealing with the swine flu, follow this link to their H1N1 Flu Preparations for 2009.