Stephens Co. Hospital Continues Flu Precautions

Stephens County Hospital continues to take precautions in light of what has been a bad flu season up to this point.

Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell said that currently, the hospital continues to ask people to limit visitation to the hospital when and where feasible.

“We know people want to come visit their family and friends at the hospital and patients want visitors,” said Gambrell. “Just hopefully people use some common sense. Do not come out if you are sick or have a fever. Again, we are just trying to cut down on the number of visitors somewhat.”

Gambrell said this all started last month when the flu really began to spread in northeast Georgia.

“We were just overwhelmed with flu patients in the last half of December,” said Gambrell. “We still have some flu. It seems to have subsided somewhat, but it has not gone away. From what I am reading out there, it is going to continue for a while.”

He went on to say that it remains unclear how long the hospital will suggest this limited visitation.

“It just depends on how the flu does and if it continues to be prevalent in this area in the coming few weeks,” said Gambrell. “What I am reading is that the so-called experts at the CDC are starting to fear that this might be a bad winter for flu. That means this could go on for several months.”

Flu season typically lasts through at least March or April, if not May.

Gambrell said he is hopeful, however, that maybe it will not be as bad as some of those predictions.

“Actually February is the peak flu month,” said Gambrell. “What I am hoping is that we have hit our peak already, but if that is what happens, I really do not know.”

Gambrell said at this point, Stephens County Hospital has not implemented any other policies.