This year’s flu season prompted Health Services to make some changes.

With an increase in illnesses and a heavier flu season caused by the spread of swine flu, Health Services is taking on additional staff and operating hours this semester to accommodate patients, said Terri Cunningham, marketing coordinator for Health Services.

There’s normally an increase in illness this time of year compared to others because it’s flu season, Cunningham said.

But with the swine flu, or H1N1, in the mix this year, more people are getting sick during flu season, she said.

Health Services is waiting on swine flu vaccines, Cunningham said.

Kristen Nordlund, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said swine flu vaccines will be widely available later than officials from CDC had originally hoped.

Gwenda Bond, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services, said the CDC has shipped Kentucky 106,000 of the 156,000 doses allocated to the state.

The demand for the swine flu vaccine is exceeding the supply, which creates a delay in distribution, Bond said.

Nordlund said it’s more difficult to make swine flu vaccines than it is to make seasonal flu vaccines.

CDC officials aimed to get more vaccines to states by mid-October, but difficulty in making the vaccines created a shortage, and they’re now hoping to distribute more in November, she said.

Bond said she suspects that anyone who wants to get a swine flu vaccine will be able to in the next month or so.

So far, health care workers across the state have received a nasal spray form of the vaccine, while pregnant women and other high priority groups have been getting the injection, she said.

Cunningham said Health Services employees don’t know when they’ll receive swine flu vaccines for distribution.

Meanwhile, Health Services has extended hours and is operating with additional staff to meet patients’ needs.

“When there is an overflow of people coming in, we will extend our hours as needed,” Cunningham said.

In previous flu seasons, Health Services added two additional employees.

This season, Health Services added more student workers and more student volunteers from the nursing department, Cunningham said.

Donna Brosche, a registered nurse who works for Health Services, said the staff has routine meetings to discuss ways of handling increased illness during the flu season.

Various campus departments are represented at the meetings, including officials from Housing and Residence Life who plan to accommodate sick students in the dorms, she said.

When the swine flu vaccine becomes available at Western, Health Services will e-mail the campus community and post information on the Health Services’ Web site.