Respiratory illnesses see uptick

An uptick in the number of area residents with respiratory illnesses is presenting a challenging situation for Plains Regional Medical Center, the hospital’s chief executive said Thursday.

“We are extremely busy and are operating at full capacity right now,” Jorge Cruz said. “We are seeing many more flu cases than usual at this time of year, with many patients seeking care in our emergency department.”

Cruz talked about the significant number of people also coming in with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

“We also continue to see more RSV cases than usual, typically among young children, as well as other respiratory conditions,” Cruz said.

Cruz noted the number of COVID-19 patients at PRMC is small.

He suggested taking precautions.

“Hand-washing and staying up to date on flu shots and COVID-19 boosters,” Cruz said. “We also want to encourage the community to seek help from a primary care provider early if you are experiencing mild symptoms.”

Cruz stressed the importance of vaccines.

“Locations are available through the New Mexico Department of Health,” Cruz said.

The uptick in illness and resultant absenteeism in Clovis and Portales schools was cited by school officials as the reason both systems switched to remote learning late last week, closing campuses and looking to re-open Monday.

Calls and emails with requests for more area information were not returned from Roosevelt General Hospital, La Casa Family Health Center and the Curry County/Clovis Public Health office.

A statewide public health emergency order was declared Dec. 1 by The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) in response to a surge of pediatric cases and hospitalizations of respiratory viruses, including RSV.

According to a news release from NMDOH the order requires all New Mexico hospitals to work cooperatively to reactivate and participate in a “hub and spoke” model of resource management to ensure patients are transferred to appropriate levels of care.

The news release quoted acting NMDOH Secretary David Scrase who said, “We expand our social networks during the holidays, which is an important part of nurturing ourselves as human beings living in a complex world. However, at the same time we create more opportunities for respiratory viruses to spread,” Scrase said.

Scrase noted hospitals and emergency rooms are operating above their licensed capacity due to a surge in respiratory viruses and are now experiencing an unsustainable strain on healthcare providers.