The University's Health System recently opened a flu screening clinic next to the employee health center.
The clinic, which is available to Charlottesville community members ages 13 and older, provides an alternative for patients who do not have a primary care physician or who have trouble accessing a hospital emergency department because of issues such as wait times.
"The whole concept was really to address what was felt to be a larger demand for care due to the extensive, widespread nature of the flu [this season]," Ambulatory Care Manager Sue Forren said.
The clinic is able to screen patients for the flu but cannot treat other conditions, she added. It will be open Monday through Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.
Patients younger than 13 years of age should still see their primary care physician because their age group requires special considerations. University students, meanwhile, are encouraged to visit Student Health because it has access to their medical records, Forren said. University employees will continue to be seen by employee health officials.
Currently, the screening clinic is a short-term project that will remain open during the flu season, Forren said. Whether it will be implemented in future years has not yet been decided.
"We'll look back at the pros and cons, the good and bad and try to address it proactively for the future," Forren said.
The University also will hold two flu immunization clinics for students soon. The first will be Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Aquatic and Fitness Center, and the second will be Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom, said Sandra Murray, student health's associate director of administration and director of nursing. Because Student Health's regular vaccine supplies have run out, these clinics will be the only remaining opportunities for students to be vaccinated against the seasonal flu, Murray said. Student Health does not yet have vaccines for the H1N1 strain but hopes to have them before the Nov. 5 clinic.
-compiled by Prateek Vasireddy
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