Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System opened clinics to suction debris out of children's noses to help relieve their breathing and the region's limited network, which has two hospitals that admit respiratory syncytial virus patients, the Idaho Statesman reported Dec. 29.
The pop-up suction clinics offer pediatric patients monitoring of their heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as a deep suctioning of nasal mucus and phlegm. Hospitals nationwide continue to experience capacity issues because of the earlier-than-normal RSV and flu season, prompting St. Luke's to launch the free, 24-hour outpatient clinics.
"Through these new clinics, we have seen 235 visits among more than 100 kids in our communities in a matter of weeks," Kenny Bramwell, MD, St. Luke's Children's Hospital system medical director, told the Idaho Statesman. "Just one year ago, before these clinics existed, these kids would have gone to the emergency department or been admitted to the hospital for care. Through the [clinic], we have kept more than 100 kids out of the hospital so far."
Its Children's Hospital in Boise, Idaho, and its Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, Idaho, currently are the only locations in the region that admit patients with RSV.
If patients need more than the suction device's flexible straw — which has "a little more horsepower" than its over-the-counter counterpart, Dr. Bramwell told the Idaho Capital Sun Dec. 15 — a respiratory therapist from the clinic will direct them to the emergency department.