Patients pack doctors' offices

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Perhaps there are few people busier right now than pediatricians and those who work for them. Children are more likely to become infected with H1N1, and that means that doctors' offices are packed with little patients.

Three doctors are treating up to 190 patients a day Pediatric Associates of Greenwood. And the staff told me they've never seen a flu season like this one.

Their waiting room is full of little faces that look none too pleased about a visit to the pediatrician. Ashley Smith's mom took her to see the doctor when she spiked a temperature at school. Her mother immediately thought it was H1N1.

"That level of awareness that's been put out there - that knee jerk reaction. This must be it. This must be it," said Ashley's mother, Mary Katherine Smith.

She's not alone. Linda Coy answers the phones at Pediatric Associates of Greenwood.

Seventy-five percent of the calls are concerning kids with mild flu symptoms. The volume of calls surprises Coy and the rest of the staff.

Doctors say H1N1 has hit hard and early. But every case treated here has been mild and none has required hospitalization.

You're welcome to come [into the office] if that would make you feel better," said Dr Mary Elise Hodson. "But most of the time there's not a whole lot we can do about it."

That's because for most kids, Tylenol, rest, and fluids are all that's needed. That's the case for Ashley.

"It's probably just a cold or the flu - nothing to worry about," Ashley said.

"That's the case with most healthy kids who come get H1N1 - there's nothing to worry about. The problems occur often when children have another underlying medical condition.

As for the H1N1 vaccine, nurses at Pediatric Associates of Greenwood say parents have called the office asking for it. They continue to remind them to be patient because most doctors' offices in Johnson County haven't gotten it yet.