Headwaters Health Care Centre Opens Flu Assessment Clinic

Orangeville, ON, November 2, 2009 – Headwaters Health Care Centre opened a flu assessment clinic today at 150 Rolling Hills Drive. The clinic will be open Monday - Friday from noon to 8:00pm. Patients will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

Headwaters’ flu assessment clinic will assess individuals who want to know if they have H1N1 influenza. Patients seen within 48 hours of first experiencing symptoms may be given a prescription for anti-viral medication to reduce the severity of symptoms. Anti-viral medication taken within two days of experiencing symptoms helps stop the flu virus from spreading inside the body. In flu treatment studies of patients who took anti-viral medication, adults felt better 30 percent faster and children felt better 26 percent faster.

Flu vaccines will not be available from the flu assessment clinic. Individuals interested in receiving the flu vaccine can attend public health community flu vaccine clinics in their area. Information about clinics in Dufferin is available from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health at www.wdghu.org or by calling the flu hotline at 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4161.

The flu assessment clinic will help divert those with mild influenza away from the Emergency Department so hospital staff can focus on treating the most severe cases of influenza and other emergencies. The hospital is asking anyone with influenza-like symptoms to reschedule outpatient appointments or day surgery for another time when they are symptom free.

Health care officials advise if you are normally healthy and are experiencing influenza-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, joint and muscle pain, headache), you should stay home until your fever is gone and you are feeling well. If your symptoms get progressively worse and you experience shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, go to the hospital emergency department.

“Vaccination is the first line of defense for flu protection,” says Dr. Craig Donaldson, Chief of Emergency, Headwaters Health Care Centre. To help stay healthy during influenza season health care officials encourage individuals to practice good hand hygiene, coughing and sneezing etiquette and to avoid public places if you feel unwell.

Individuals concerned about their symptoms are encouraged to contact their family doctor’s office or call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. “If you do not have a family doctor or are unable to access your family doctor due to high demand, you are encouraged to visit a flu assessment clinic,” says Donaldson.

The public is invited to provide comments and suggestions about hospital services. Please contact Cholly Boland, President and CEO, Headwaters Health Care Centre at 519-941-2702 ext. 2200.

About Headwaters Health Care Centre
Headwaters Health Care Centre serves more than 110,000 residents in Caledon, Orangeville, Shelburne and Dufferin County. The hospital operates two sites – Headwaters Orangeville, a 108 bed acute care hospital and Headwaters Shelburne, a 33 bed chronic care hospital. Visit www.headwatershealth.ca.

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