Flu, COVID-19 hospitalizations on the rise at Butler Memorial Hospital
The holiday season may be over, but cold and flu season has just started.
Hospitalizations for seasonal respiratory illnesses such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 have shot up over the last two months at Butler Memorial Hospital.
According to David Rottinghaus, president of Independence Health System’s physician and provider network, the hospital went from eight admissions for influenza A in November to 100 in December, and from 28 COVID-19 admissions in November to 57 in December, with two in the first two days of January.
Rottinghaus said these numbers are outpacing those from the same period last year.
“From what I’m being told by our infection control folks, we are seeing a bit of an increase compared to last year,” Rottinghaus said. “I think it’s nothing to panic about, but we are seeing an increase. I think we’re just too early in the winter to know just yet, but over the next couple of months we’ll have a much better idea.”
The health system has had a masking policy in place since January 2025, according to its website.
“We are encouraging masking in the hospital, not just for visitors, but also for patients and for our staff,” Rottinghaus said. “The intent is to protect patients and staff when spread of respiratory illnesses is high.”
The same pattern is holding true across UPMC medical system, which also serves Butler County through its UPMC Passavant-Cranberry hospital, as well as at numerous outpatient facilities.
“We’ve seen an uptick in respiratory virus cases at UPMC facilities over the past few weeks. The viruses include influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, with the majority of cases being influenza,” said Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC chief medical officer. “The people who have the most difficulty with influenza are those who are at either end of the age spectrum or people who have underlying conditions that affect organ function.”
Rottinghaus’ advice for the general public is to get caught up on the necessary vaccines if you haven’t already done so. This includes the flu shot and COVID-19 booster, which are updated annually.
“The flu shot is annual, so every year we encourage patients to get flu vaccines,” Rottinghaus said. “It’s a yearly influenza vaccine. The strains that are incorporated into the vaccine are decided upon before the vaccines are produced. In terms of, COVID, those are typically updated on a yearly basis as well.”
“It’s not too late to get a flu shot, which can lessen the severity of symptoms if you do get sick,” Yealy said.
Rottinghaus also recommends those who do contract one of the seasonal respiratory illnesses to stay home from work or school rather than risk spreading the infection.
“If you’re sick, if you’re coughing, congested, have a fever, then stay home,” Rottinghaus said. “People are generally contagious for at least three days after they start contracting symptoms. Generally, their ability to spread is gone in five to seven days and by that time, they usually feel much better.”
