Children's hospitals across the country are at or above capacity amid a surge in respiratory illnesses, with some describing waiting rooms with as many patients waiting for a bed as occupied beds, NBC News reported Nov. 8.
As of Nov. 7, 76 percent of pediatric beds nationwide were occupied, according to HHS data cited by NBC News. Many hospitals are reaching out to neighboring states to find open beds for transfers, only to find there are none.
"There's no space anywhere," Sage Myers, MD, pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told Today.
Here are four updates on hospital capacity issues:
- Every pediatric bed in Rhode Island was filled as of Nov. 7, according to NBC News. Frank Overly, MD, medical director for pediatric emergency medicine at Providence, R.I.-based Hasbro Children's Hospital, told NBC News the emergency room's 29 pediatric beds were full with 29 additional patients in the waiting room.
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the country with 594 beds. It has been at or above capacity for three weeks, Today reported.
- Corewell Health East, formerly Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health, told ABC affiliate WXYZ it saw a 500 percent increase in positive tests in respiratory viruses among children, resulting in visitor restrictions for children younger than 5 at the health system.
- UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh set up a tent outside its emergency department last week to manage an increased volume of patients with respiratory illnesses.