As temperatures drop, the spread of illnesses is rising, leaving hospital staff feeling overwhelmed.

Emergency rooms across California are seeing an influx of patients which has resulted in overcrowding of emergency departments.

Locally, both Community Regional Medical Center and Clovis Community Medical Center are dealing with more patients than usual, causing staff to find ways to adapt to the numbers.

Beds are being set up in hallways and other floors of these hospitals to make room for the influx of patients.

“We’ve had to convert our third floor postpartum to a med/surgical floor, and our main lobby into an emergency department waiting area,” said Clovis Community Hospital Ambassador Yvonne Flores. “They also had to turn our emergency department lobby into a triage area.”

The stomach flu, COVID-19 and upper respiratory illnesses such as Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), are not the only illnesses hospital staff are currently being faced with.

“Influenza A and B are the main illnesses that are being treated,” Flores said.

Patients who are seeking help in the emergency department are arriving at hospitals with severe symptoms, which requires them to be admitted for longer periods of time.

TJ Green, a retail manager from Clovis, visited Saint Agnes Medical Center on Friday evening and waited for over six hours.

“It’s a hazard,” Green said. “Wheelchairs couldn’t even be moved around because there was no room. It’s a violation of HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]. There’s just curtains between you and other patients. There are beds lined up in the hallways.”

The packed hospitals also affected the family of Fresno State business administration student Bella Barajas.

“Because the hospitals are so overcrowded my mom didn’t get as much care as she should have,” Barajas said. “They didn’t get to the bottom of what was wrong and now she had to go back.”

The number of patients has risen significantly.

“Staff are currently seeing about 400 patients each day, an increase of 17.5%,” the Fresno Bee reported.

Flu vaccinations and extra precautions like cleanliness, are also highly recommended during flu season to help stop the spread.

“Washing hands and following very good hygiene practices reduces the transmission of Gastroenteritis tremendously,” said Robert Mitchell, director of medical services at the Student Health Center.

Fresno State students are encouraged to take advantage of the free resources available at the Student Health Center such as flu vaccinations, routine medical exams and other minor services.

“As a microcosm of the community, we treat patients that have the same common illnesses that circulate in the larger community,” Mitchell said.