Do you know the difference between a cold and the flu? Do you really need a flu shot? Is there anything you can do to prevent the flu?
These and many other questions are answered on a new Web site recently launched by Novant Health, which owns Rowan Regional Medical Center.
The new site, www.NoFlu.org, has sections where Novant facilities like Rowan Regional can provide community-specific information.
NoFlu.org provides consumers with convenient access to reliable, easy-to-understand information about the flu. This year, some 36,000 people will die from the influenza (flu) virus and more than 20,000 will be hospitalized due to the severity of flu symptoms.
“One of the most common questions patients have during the winter months is whether their symptoms indicate a common cold or the flu,” said Suzanne Murphy, infection prevention director at Rowan Regional. “The NoFlu.org Web site provides an easy-to-use guide that will help patients know the difference between a cold and the flu.”
A team of Novant leaders decided to create the Web site as part of a Pandemic Preparedness program. The group, which included employees from all Novant facilities, formed to ensure Novant hospitals would have plans to meet the needs of patients in a medical crisis, such as a pandemic flu.
NoFlu.org was developed as a communication tool to distribute information about the pandemic flu as well as the typical seasonal flu.
The Web site answers one of the most common questions about the flu: Who should get a flu shot? According to Ms. Murphy, now is the time for patients to get a flu shot.
Novant Health is a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system that includes nine hospitals, a 1015-physician medical group, two nursing homes and 130 outpatient facilities.