Edmond Hospital Reaches Full Capacity Due To Flu

Some metro hospitals report being at capacity because of the flu.

At OU Medical Center in Edmond, doctors say the flu has them scrambling to find beds and the ICU is completely packed.

"The entire hospital is at capacity, we're completely full," said Dr. Shane Hull, a Pulmonologist with OU Medical Center in Edmond. "My office is extremely busy, not only flu but there are a lot of people with flu like illness."

Hull says more people are being hospitalized because of the flu this year is so much more severe, patients are much sicker, and it's causing lingering effects like bronchiolitis.

1/15/2012 Related Story: EMSA: How To Tell If You Have The Flu

Hull also says there was a falloff in vaccinations this year, so more people are getting the flu. He says we haven't even reached the peak yet of the flu. So there is still a benefit to getting a flu shot.

The flu doesn't seem to be effecting other hospitals as much. Norman Regional and OU Medical Center's main campus they say although the number of confirmed flu cases is growing considerably, it hasn't pushed them to capacity.

A spokesperson for Norman Regional says most of the cases they are treating are elderly people.

1/10/2013 Related Story: Fighting The Flu: Take Steps To Protect Yourself