Aurora-based Children's Hospital Colorado is seeing unusually high pediatric hospitalizations as respiratory illnesses that typically peak in the winter emerge earlier and COVID-19 rates among children remain high, reports The Gazette.

Many hospitals are reporting an influx of patients who delayed care during the pandemic and now require acute care for their worsening conditions. This demand is placing extra stress on organizations already facing capacity issues amid a surge in COVID-19 patients.

Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston has temporarily suspended admissions of pediatric and trauma patients amid acute nursing staffing shortages in key areas, according to a hospital statement shared with Becker's Oct. 12.

Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, part of Central Maine Healthcare, will close its neonatal intensive care unit because of staff resignations over the state's COVID-19 vaccination mandate, according to a statement shared with Becker's Oct. 11.

After many hospitals experienced difficulties during Hurricane Ida, Houma, La.-based Chabert Medical Center is resuming inpatient care, critical care and surgical services, Houma Today reported Oct. 8.

There were 11 open pediatric hospital beds in Minnesota as of Oct. 7, local ABC News affiliate KSTP reports. 

Some states that bore the brunt of the latest COVID-19 surge early on are showing signs of recovery, reports Bloomberg.

St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Columbus, Ga., will end gynecologic oncology services in January 2022, according to WTVM.

Police said a certified nursing assistant was shot and killed by a co-worker Oct. 4 at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Alaska has activated crisis standards of care for 20 healthcare facilities across the state.

As hospitals around Washington grapple with the current surge in COVID-19 cases, healthcare providers are increasingly using a statewide system used to coordinate capacities, according to an Oct. 1 report from The Chronicle. 

Several nursing homes in the Finger Lakes, N.Y.-based area have stopped accepting new residents, with patients requiring nursing care or rehabilitation instead turning to local hospitals, reports NBC affiliate WHEC-TV.

Often dismissed as a minor inconvenience for patients, emergency department crowding is actually an important indicator of the U.S. healthcare system's functioning, eight emergency medicine physicians wrote in a commentary published Sept. 28 in NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery.

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Kaleida Health said the system and other area hospitals are preparing for higher emergency room volumes, longer wait times and stress on bed availability ahead of a tentative strike at Catholic Health's Mercy Hospital of Buffalo. 

Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. in Bethel has activated crisis standards of care, making it the second hospital in Alaska to take this action.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has extended a measure limiting elective procedures at hospitals in the state, which are facing staffing shortages amid the latest COVID-19 wave.

Cleveland Clinic forecast models predict area hospitals will see the highest volumes of COVID-19 patients over the next several weeks as a local surge peaks, according to a Sept. 27 news release.

Catholic Health's Mercy Hospital of Buffalo (N.Y.) is suspending inpatient nonemergency procedures and pausing labor and delivery services ahead of a tentative worker strike, NBC affiliate WGRZ reported Sept. 28.

In recent weeks, several hospitals and health systems were forced to close beds over staffing challenges. 

Dallas-based Steward Health Care will end maternity and obstetrics services at Sharon (Pa.) Regional Medical Center about three months earlier than anticipated, local news station WKBN reported Sept. 27.