(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Pediatric intensive care units at Chicago-area hospitals, including Lurie Children’s Hospital, are facing new challenges, as they continue to cope with a shortage of available beds.
Dr. Marcelo Malakooti, the Associate Chief Medical Officer at Lurie, said a shortage of key personnel had already put a strain on pediatric ICUs for some time.
“The main staffing shortages occurring right now are … pediatric nurses and respiratory therapists, both of whom you need quite critically to take care of these very sick patients, who might be on a ventilator or other respiratory support for their viral illness,” Malakooti said.
He said the problem is only getting worse now that there are rising numbers of cases of a respiratory virus called RSV.
“We already have a high [number] of pediatric patients who are infected with respiratory viral illnesses,” Malakooti said. “Obviously [we] try to get as many ICU beds as we can, but when we already have a limitation of ICU beds on top of patients that need it, certainly it becomes a stressor to the health system.”
Malakooti said Lurie and other hospitals are also concerned about added strain on pediatric ICUs if the upcoming flu season is severe.
For now, Malakooti said hospitals with no room in their pediatric ICUs either have to look for other hospitals that have space, or they’ll be forced to deny sick children access to intensive care units until beds open up.
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