Cook Children’s medical centers in Fort Worth and Prosper are reporting long wait times and overwhelmed emergency departments as kids with viral illnesses pour in.
Pediatric emergency medicine physician Taylor Louden said the emergency department is treating around 500 patients a day.
He said the patient volume changes depending on the season—anywhere from 300 to 650 patients a day—but because families are bringing kids to the hospital for non-emergency situations, the system is overburdened.
“It’s an extreme amount of patients,” said Louden. “That’s a patient checking in about every three minutes to our emergency department. The influx of patients has made it very difficult to care for our sickest patients that need us the most.”
Children's Health in Dallas has also seen similar spikes in the past few weeks. The DFW Hospital Council reported about 97% of pediatric beds across the region are currently occupied. Louden said 41 of the 43 pediatric ICU beds are full.
He also said the medical centers are busiest on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. If families come to the emergency department for minor respiratory symptoms, they could wait between four and seven hours to be seen by a doctor.
RSV, COVID-19 and flu numbers have been climbing in Texas as winter season approaches, which usually brings a spike in viral illnesses. Last year, pediatric hospitals around North Texas experienced a similar increase in RSV cases in early November.
Louden said the numbers are similar, but this year, “RSV is hitting harder.”
“Our patients are sicker,” he said, “and we’re tying up our ICU beds a lot sooner than we were last year during this time.”
RSV cases in Texas have been increasing steadily over October and November. Data from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) shows about 32% of RSV tests came back positive in the DFW Metroplex for the week of Nov. 4. A month earlier, the numbers were less than 10%.
RSV, COVID-19 and the flu share symptoms, which often include fever, congestion, cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue and trouble breathing.
DSHS reports RSV usually impacts kids between birth and 2 years old, but older kids can also be at risk, in addition to the elderly and people who are immunocompromised.
Cook Children’s pediatricians urge families to first check in with their primary care provider to test and treat viral illnesses before coming to the emergency room.
“I tell parents…if your child’s fever is controlled, and when their fever is down they’re active, and they’re breathing comfortably and drinking well, you are okay to stay at home and continue observing,” said Amy Richardson, assistant medical director for Cook Children’s urgent care centers.
Richardson recommend kids come to the hospital only when experiencing severe symptoms that worsen over a few days, like high fever, trouble breathing or dehydration.
She anticipates viral illnesses will continue to increase over the next few months.
"Definitely winter is here, even though it’s still fall, with the increase of the respiratory viruses into full swing," Richardson said. "So we do anticipate this problem is going to worsen as we progress through the winter months as opposed to get better.”
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