Saddleback Memorial – San Clemente Food Drive and Free Drive-Thru Flu Shots Friday, October 18

San Clemente, CA, October 08, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Flu season is right around the corner and local doctors are encouraging South Orange County residents to get their flu shots. Saddleback Memorial Medical Center – San Clemente and the Orange County Health Department are teaming up to offer free drive-thru flu shots on Friday, October 18, 2013 from 7a.m.-1p.m.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, five to 20 percent of the population on average gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications. The flu can be serious, especially for children and the elderly, and Saddleback Memorial advises that people take the proper precautions to help prevent the flu.

The people that are eligible for flu shots are the following:
• Those 50 years of age and older
• People with chronic diseases
• Health care workers
• Women who will be pregnant during flu season
• People with health conditions that suppress their immune or respiratory system
• Caregivers or household contacts of children under five years old or adults over 50 years old
• Caregivers or household contacts of people with medical conditions that place them at higher risk complications from flu

Those that receive a drive-thru flu shot on October 18 are encouraged to donate a non-perishable food item for participation in Saddleback Memorial’s food drive. The food drive is being coordinated by the San Clemente Rotary Club and foods collected will be delivered to community food pantries.

The free drive-thru flu shots will be held:
• When: Friday, October 18, 2013 from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. or while supplies last
• Where: Saddleback Memorial – San Clemente –
654 Camino De Los Mares, San Clemente
Please enter at main entrance and this is a drive-thru clinic only - no walk-ins. There will be officers directing traffic.

Must be at least 12 years old to receive a free drive-thru flu shot.

For more information, please call 949-496-1122.

About Saddleback Memorial Medical Center
With campuses in Laguna Hills and San Clemente, Saddleback Memorial provides exceptional medical expertise across a range of treatment areas including cancer, stroke, and cardiac care. Innovations like robotic surgery, low dose CT, and dedicated breast MRI set us apart. In addition, The Women’s Hospital at Saddleback Memorial – Laguna Hills offers special comfort and care to new mothers and their babies. A proud member of the MemorialCare Health System and named Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for the past two years, Saddleback Memorial continues to provide comprehensive care for patients at every stage of their lives. For more information, go to memorialcare.org/saddleback.

About MemorialCare Health System
MemorialCare Health System is a not-for profit, integrated delivery system that includes six top hospitals – Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley, and Saddleback Memorial in Laguna Hills and San Clemente; a medical group – MemorialCare Medical Group; an Independent Practice Association (IPA) – Greater Newport Physicians; MemorialCare HealthExpress retail clinics; ambulatory surgery centers and numerous outpatient health centers throughout the Southland. For more information, go to memorialcare.org.