Fall 2014-6F Ann Arbor
The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com
Twelve hospitalized in UMHSintensive care with HiN1
Doctors say lack
of vaccination may
be factor in high
number of cases
By IAN DILLINGHAM
Daily Neas Editor
Twelve patients at the Uni-
versity Hospital are receiving
treatment in the intensive care
unit after contracting the H1N1
influenza virus - the same
strain seen in the 2009 "swine
flu" pandemic.
Dr. Sandro Cinti, professor
of infectious diseases, said sev-
eral of the patients have been
placed on an advanced form of
life support known as ECMO -
extracorporeal membrane oxy-
genation. While the procedure
is intended to give patients more
time to recover from their dis-
ease, Cinti said it is both "very
serious" and a "last resort" for
the most seriously afflicted
patients.
All twelve patients are cur-
rently breathing with the help
of mechanical ventilators and
receiving aggressive treatment
to prevent infection while doc-
tors treat the underlying influ-
enza.
The patients range in age
from 22 to 58 and most were
considered healthy prior to con-
tracting the disease. This range
is consistent with 2009 infection
patterns, which showed young-
er demographics infected at a
higher rate than the elderly, who
were most likely exposed to a
similar form of the disease many
years ago.
H1N1 was most widely pub-
licized during 2009 - prior to
the creation of a vaccine - when
it killed over 470 individuals in
the U.S. Despite fading from the
public spotlight, the disease has
been present in every flu season
since the pandemic, Cintisaid.
"Last year it was just at a very
low level, but this year it's the
main flu going around," Cinti
said.
Since the current flu vaccine
is designed to protect individu-
als against the HiNi flu strain,
doctors at UMHS speculate the
12 individuals currently in the
ICU did not receive the vaccine,
or were infected before it was
able to take effect.
"This is a preventable disease,
so people should get vaccinat-
ed," Cinti said. "This is another
example of what happens when
the population doesn't take
recommendations from public
health and get vaccinated."
Although UMHS usually sees
several critical flu cases each
year, Cinti said 12 patients is an
unusual occurrence. In addition,
the flu season is not expected to
hit its peak for another couple
of weeks, meaning more cases
could be admitted.
This year's flu season, which
started slightly later than in the
past, will likely extend into Feb-
ruary and potentially further,
Cinti said.
The University accepts com-
plex referrals from across the
region, which may have contrib-
uted to the high number of criti-
cal cases.
"That's one of the reasons we
may be seeing more sick patients
is that we are a referral cen-
ter from all over the state and
from other states," Cinti said.
"This particular procedure, this
machine is really unique to just a
few centers in the state."
ECMO was used in a similar
context in 2009 to treat criti-
cal patients. Although it wasn't
originally designed for this pur-
pose, it has been used to suc-
cessfully treat a small number of
extreme cases.
"By the time you're on ECMO,
you're pretty sick and your
chances of survival or rather
low," Cinti said.
Cinti advises individuals to
take protective measures, such
as staying home if sick, to pre-
vent spreading the flu to other
individuals.
PARKING
From Page 1F
lems with the way the building
matched others nearby.
In 2008, the Ann Arbor City
Council got involved by passing a
resolution asking the University
to pause plans, which led to the
unsuccessful attempt at partner-
ship later that year.
Executive Parking Director
Steve Dolen said the garage did
receive more attention than can
be typical.
"This one, there may have
been more of a level of engage-
ment because of the proximity to
private residence," he said. "But
I think there's always a level of
community engagement with our
projects."
The final design of the newly-
opened garage included several
features designed to address
community concerns, including a
rain garden for runoff, a layered
pattern of darker brick to blend
more with surrounding buildings
and panels detailing the street's
history.
However, Tim Mortimer, pres-
ident of the Riverside Park Place
Condominium Association, said
nearby residents remain dissatis-
fied with the final product.
"None of the genuine concerns
were addressed," he said. "They
essentially put lipstick on a pig."
He cited unresolved issues of
increases in traffic and noise as
well as potential danger to chil-
dren from busier streets, adding
that -the environmental impact
from the pressure of 700 addi-
tional vehicles in the area also
remains a broader, fundamental
split of interest between the city
and the University.
"The last thing the city needs
is to have more single-occupant
vehicles commuting back and
forth near the center of the city
and back out again," Mortimer
said. "What's needed is the Uni-
versity to be genuinely committed
(to environmental stewardship.)"
This isn't the only Univer-
sity project in recent years to
run into issues due to a location
on the edges of campus. When
North Quadrangle was pro-
posed in 2006, original designs
were rejected by the regents
because of concerns about walk-
ability and fit. Several features,
including the courtyard, were
added to help blend the building
more with its surroundings.
Kosteva said the primary
consideration when deciding to
build on outer parts of campus
is whether the project fulfills the
University's core purposes.
"We are attempting to provide
the residents and the taxpayers
of the state of Michigan; and our
student and our healthcare cus-
tomers, with quality facilities to
provide research and teaching
and healthcare environments
that satisfy and enhance our mis-
sion," he said.
He added that while he hoped
residents would agree that com-
munity input was incorporated
in the garage, he recognized that
they were advocating for other
uses for the space.
"You would understandably
get two different opinions about
the extent of accommodation and
how much of the commentary
and comments are reflected in
it," he said. "I think, as I outlined,
this was a case where the Univer-
sity did listen, and we did hear
the expressions of concern and
the expression of interest regard-
ing the architectural treatment
and the facility's impact on the
neighborhood."
In the end, Councilmember
Sabra Briere (D- Ward 1), whose
ward includes the project, said
legally there's not much recourse
available to residents. The Uni-
versity isn't currently obligated
to compromise with the city on
this, or on other construction
projects.
However, she added that while
she recognized the University's
desire to meet its needs, she
hopes in the future they'll do it
in a way that's more conciliatory
with the city.
"I don't fault the University for
having its own agenda," she said.
"I just wish that they'd recognize
that other people and groups
have rights as well."
DEWOLF
From Page iF
the dots back to DeWolf's alleged
killers.
Police found it had been sold
on Craigslist by a man named
Jayson Atkins, who made the
exchange in Ann Arbor at the
State Street Starbucks. In state-
ments to the police, Atkins
asserted that he had met another
man, Joei Jordan, at a gas sta-
tion and paid $200 for the stolen
Macbook Air. He also provided
police with an explanation for
the cheap price tag: the sell-
ers only had a short period of
time to move their goods before
"heading south." It was this
identification of the man respon-
sible for the sale of this stolen
laptop that lead police to arrest
Jordan, Franklin and Jones in
South Carolina. At this point, it
is unclear how exactly the three
were tracked down.
In South Carolina, Jordan and
Jones were questioned individu-
ally on Nov. 5 and 6, and their
statements led to determining
the location of the PlayStation 3,
though information at this time
is unclear.
Tracing the stolen PlaySta-
tion 3 back to the three suspects
became the next step in the
investigation. Detectives ended
up on the doorsteps of Michael
Robertson's home in Ypsilanti,
where he allegedly behaved eva-
sively.
His testimony in Friday's pre-
liminary hearing was disputed
and inconsistent, but from his
original statements, police were
able to gather that Jones, Jordan
and Franklin, who were char-
acterized by Robertson as "jit-
tery" and "hyper," were all at
Robertson's residence multiple
times after robberies-gone-
wrong. They also discussed the
DeWolf murder, as something
that "could come back on us."
Robertson helped coordinate
the sale of the item stolen from
DeWolf's fraternity to his long-
time friend, Ypsilanti resident
Patrick Davis.
Police recovered the stolen
PlayStation 3 from Davis and
verified it as the console from
DeWolf's fraternity house. Along
with the recovered laptop, these
two items will help the pros-
ecution build a case connecting
Jones and Jordan first to the
home invasion incident and sub-
sequently to DeWolf's homicide.
At their preliminary hear-
ing Friday, Jordan and Jones
made statements admitting their
involvement in the home inva-
sion and subsequent death of
DeWolf.
At this time in the investiga-
tion, much evidence remains
undisclosed, but the strategies,
witnesses and small pieces of
evidence divulged at Friday's
preliminary hearing will be
expounded upon in the upcom-
ing trial.
Jordan and Jones will remain
in custody with no bond. The
pretrial hearing is set for Janu-
ary 29 at 1:30 p.m.
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