RSV Overwhelming Pediatric Emergency Departments Across U.S. Transcript

Arriving months ahead of schedule and in force, RSV, doctors say, is stressing an already taxed pediatric health system. Dr. Rick Place is the medical director of the pediatric emergency Department at Inova Children’s Hospital.

The number of patients coming into the hospital are really putting an extraordinary strain on all of the services from the emergency department up to the inpatient services. The hospitals are at or above capacity, and the emergency departments are seeing double volumes from what they were ever seeing before Covid.

77% of pediatric beds across the country were occupied as of Sunday. 21 states and the District of Columbia at or above that mark. At Rhode Islands Hasbro Children’s Hospital today capacity is 125%. What is 125% capacity like?

We do see children in hallway beds, we sometimes see them in our ambulance space and chairs. Sometimes some docs even just go out to the waiting room and try to see some kids in the waiting room.

Brian Mata rushed his seven month old son Beckett to the hospital last week with RSV.

When he is getting better and his fever goes away, we think it’s over, it’s gone, and then it comes back again. It’s just like hitting the restart button.

While wait times at many pediatric ERs are stretching into multiple hours, doctors advise taking your child to the ER when he or she has to work to breathe, they are dehydrated and or lethargic to make sure you get good care from a system under pressure. Anne Thompson, NBC News.

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