To manage the high numbers, the hospital has set up a makeshift flu clinic in an auditorium near the emergency room, staffed with doctors and nurses who can quickly assess and treat patients who can then recover at home.Huntington has set up heated tents outside its emergency department to triage patients, and “we’ve tried to bring on as much staff as we can,” with medical personnel working extra days and travel nurses joining their ranks, Shriner said.But while previous “twindemics” failed to materialize in the face of disastrous coronavirus surges, California is now simultaneously contending with a spike in coronavirus transmission, an early onslaught of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and a historically strong start to the flu season.“This has been going on for a while, and people are getting tired.” At CHOC, to help move children into hospital rooms more quickly, a theater where hospitalized children had been able to watch movies has been repurposed as a “discharge lounge” for those ready to go home but awaiting a ride or instructions for their families.Based on previous statewide trends, roughly 55% of such individuals are likely not hospitalized specifically for COVID-19 but tested positive when seeking care for some other reason."