Cogdell Family Clinic continues to see patients battling flu, mononucleosis, strep, RSV and stomach bugs.
Kevin Williams, the clinic’s director, said a contract physician was brought in to help with the caseload this month. He said the clinic is down three healthcare providers compared to a year ago, but all the physicians have been handling the extra workload.
Williams said the contract doctor saw 45 patients in one day and the highest walk-in clinic total this month has been 60 people.
“The numbers are astronomical,” Williams said of the people receiving treatment.
The clinic will not know how many patients it saw during the month until next week.
“I am really curious to see what February is like,” he said of the patient count.
The weekend walk-in clinic has been especially busy. Williams said 48 patients were seen in one day and that is equal to one physician’s daily total. On Feb. 19, 32 people visited the walk-in clinic.
To help with the extra patient volume, Cogdell Memorial Hospital has added extra registrars to help reduce the registration waiting period.
Ella Helms, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said she wanted to ask the emergency room staff to help the clinic with patients, but they were just as busy.
“The doctors and nurses are doing a great job,” she said.
Williams said over the last two to three weeks, nurses have not left the clinic until 9:30 p.m.
Williams said the best way to protect yourself from the flu is to use common sense.
“Wash, wash, wash, wash your hands,” he said. “Try to avoid sick people. If you work in an office, sanitize things like your phone, keyboard or mouse, high-traffic touching areas that tend to be overlooked.”