Flu Cases Flood Emergency Rooms...12/29/99

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Linda Lindquist thought things might slow down at Thunderbird Samaritan Medical Center after the Christmas weekend. But the flood of sniffly, feverish patients that started flowing into her emergency room last week has just kept coming and coming. The hospital turned to extra staff and volunteers to help comfort patients. And for several days in a row, it has diverted ambulances until it could get the waiting room under control. Hospitals in the Phoenix area are overrun by patients complaining of coughs, fevers and sore throats. Emergency rooms in Southern California and Wisconsin also report being flooded with flu patients. Nineteen states reported widespread or regional flu activity during the week of Dec. 12-18, according to the most recent CDC data.