Iowa hospital running out of beds amid rise in children with respiratory issues

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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) - Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines is running out of beds for patients in the midst of a rise in hospitalizations of children with respiratory issues, KCCI reports.

Hospital staff are having to work overtime to take care of the high number of patients with the Flu, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses.

Data from the CDC shows COVID, Flu, and RSV cases are up for children under four years old, compared to last year.

Doctor Joel Waddell believes the children didn't get enough exposure to build their immune systems during COVID quarantine, which is why the cases are so severe now.

"A large number of like three to five to six-year-olds being hospitalized with regular viruses that we usually don't see," Dr. Waddell said.

He added that cases typically drop off in the spring as cold and flu season comes to a close, but he's noticed more illnesses happening outside the usual "sickness season" since the COVID-19 pandemic.

He recommends checking that vaccinations are up-to-date, and to keep your children home if they are feeling sick.

KCRG-TV9 reached out to Mercy Medical Center, UIHC, and UnityPoint Health St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids to see if they're also seeing an uptick. Both said they're not seeing an uptick in pediatric patients.

"It does not look like we are experiencing this type of increase. Our medical team says we have seen a mild increase in the number of pediatric patients hospitalized with respiratory illnesses, but the volumes are still well below what we see during the winter viral respiratory season and are not straining our resources or capacity," a representative of UIHC said.

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