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Flu triage opens at Baptist Hospital in Beaumont during peak of flu season

After seeing a large number of patients experiencing flu-like symptoms, Baptist Hospital opens a triage for patients seeking care.

The flu has hit Southeast Texas hard, enough to where Baptist Hospital in Beaumont has opened a triage outside of its emergency room for flu patients.

"We have a high accumulation of patients coming in, a mass influx," RN John Delacerda said regarding how busy the emergency room was on Monday.

Delacerda says a large majority of those patients experienced flu-like symptoms.

"It could be upper respiratory, it could be flu-related, it is that time of year where we normally have that many patients coming in for respiratory issues," Delacerda said.

The move also helps patients avoid long wait-times in the emergency room.

The Walgreen’s flu index shows Southeast Texas has the state’s sixth highest amount of estimated flu activity.

The index is measured using retail prescription data for antiviral medications used to treat influenza.

Delacerda says the triage is another solution available to Southeast Texans experiencing the flu.

"It's kind of a proactive versus reactive reaction to everything. We have a lot of sick patients in the ER right now, so this kind of helps bleed out a lot of the stuff that we don't need to keep a bed tied up for in the ER," Delacerda said.

12 News has reached out to the Beaumont Health Department for a number of flu cases but we have not heard back.

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