Flu season has hit the Northern San Joaquin Valley and hospitals throughout the region are feeling the brunt as throngs of flu and cold sufferers flock to emergency rooms for relief.

But that move by patients is doing more harm than good as hospitals struggle to handle overcrowding.

"Since last Sunday, Stanislaus County has really felt the impact of flu season," said Doug Buchanan of Mountain Valley Emergency Medical Services. "All four of our ERs have had extreme saturations. A few times, we've had to send ambulances out of the county."

Health officials are urging people with flu and cold symptoms to contact their doctor instead of going to an emergency room.

"We're not just trying to keep people away from the emergency room," said Health Services Agency spokesman David Jones. "But we want the public to understand that if they have the flu, there are other ways of receiving health care. ... They may be waiting (at the ER) a long time."

On New Year's Eve, emergency departments at all of Stanislaus County's hospitals -- Doctors and Memorial Medical centers in Modesto, Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock and Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale -- were nearly full.

To make sure no one hospital reached capacity, ambulances rotated where noncritical patients were taken.

Graham Pierce of Doctors Medical Center in Modesto said patients in need of critical care will be treated at the hospital closest to them.

"We want to make sure the public understands that if you suffer a heart attack, you won't be sent out of the area," Pierce said. "You will be treated."

A post-Christmas surge of flu cases is not unusual. Cold and flu germs spread more as people travel during the holiday season. And with medical offices short-staffed because of illness and vacations, patients turn to hospitals and urgent care centers seeking relief from cold and flu symptoms.

Southern California has been experiencing a flu epidemic for the past several weeks. Until now, the Central Valley and Northern California had been unaffected.

Buchannan added that San Joaquin County hospitals are not as crowded as facilities in Stanislaus County and emergency services officials are in contact with areas if patients need to go out of the county.

Health officials are not calling this a flu epidemic -- yet. And the number of patients flocking to area hospitals isn't as high as it was two years ago.

That year, people were felled by an unexpected strain of flu which wasn't put into the flu vaccine. Also, Stanislaus County lost one of its hospitals that year. Stanislaus Medical Center closed in early November, not long before flu season reached its peak.

"We do not feel we are in the position we were two years ago," said Jones. "It's not to that point of severity."

Health workers are saying there are other alternatives flu sufferers should take instead of going to a hospital emergency room:

• Call your primary care doctor first. He or she might be able to see you in their office. The wait there will be shorter than in an emergency room.
• Call a medical advice line to find out what you can do at home to alleviate symptoms. Many insurance plans offer such help lines for their members.
• Consider going to an urgent care center. Waiting times are usually shorter. Check with your health plan before seeking treatment at an urgent care center.

Reprinted by permission Modesto Bee