Across the country, 36 states are seeing elevated levels of RSV cases compared to this time last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitals in 10 states are at or above 80% capacity.
— For every patient discharged from the pediatric intensive care unit at Mass General for Children in Boston, three more are waiting for that bed. A surge in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, has hospitals nationwide struggling to treat patients.
When Gabriella Boulting saw her 1-month-old gasping for air, she called a pediatrician who sent her to the local hospital. The baby, Alma, was then transferred to Mass General. "It's not hyperbole to call it a crisis," he said."In the last three years, the health care system has shown extraordinary flexibility in creating critical care spaces when they're needed."
Many hospitals converted pediatric beds to adult beds during the pandemic, and some have not switched them back, contributing to the shortage.
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