Warsaw, N.Y. (WBEN) - U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was in Wyoming County on Friday as he launched a major new push to increase federal support for Upstate New York hospitals currently strained by the increase in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) cases.
"In Western New York and with great hospitals, rural hospitals like Wyoming County Community Hospital (WCCH), or more urban hospitals like Oishei [Children's Hospital], have both been overwhelmed with huge spikes in RSV cases for kids," said Sen. Schumer on Friday. "This increases waiting times at the emergency rooms, they're backlogs, and in tandem with the rise in flu and COVID, it is straining our healthcare providers in ways they haven't seen in quite a while."
Schumer paid a visit to Wyoming County Community Hospital, as he officially called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help Western New York take this wave of RSV and other respiratory illnesses head-on.
"H.H.S. has authority, they have emergency authority to help in scenarios like this. So I'm calling on them to be ready to send it the second to hospital needs it, especially with cases that are going to rise in the coming months. The feds have to be prepared on a moment's notice," Sen. Schumer said. "If a hospital like the one we're at today says I need help, I want H.H.S. to say they'll be there tomorrow."
As Schumer explained on Friday, this has been the busiest season for RSV hospitals like WCCH and Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo ever, with more than double the number of admissions this year compared to the entirety of last season.
The Wyoming County Community Health System reported 54 new cases of RSV alone in just the first two weeks of November, with 115 pediatric RSV cases so far this year. Pediatric COVID-19 cases are also up 75% this year, while pediatric influenza cases have gone from just three last year to 24 so far this year.
At Oishei Children's Hospital, the hospital has seen over 1,000 pediatric RSV admissions this fall - more than double the number of admissions that they typically see over the entire six-month season from this time last year.
Schumer says places like WCCH and Oishei are not prepared for the large influx of RSV and the other respiratory cases that have been coming in. However, they can get the support from the Department of Health and Human Services, including the power to support temporary structures like screening tents, surge staffing if there are not enough pediatricians available, moving patients across states lines, credentialing out of state providers, enhancing the use of telehealth, coordinating medical supply chains and more.
"The good news is that RSV is very treatable. If you get the right treatment, the odds of returning to a safe, healthy childhood with no permanent damage is extremely high. But you've got to get people the materials they need," Sen. Schumer said. "There are reports that a vaccine may be ready as soon as next year, God willing, but for now, this is all we have and we can't have a preventative vaccine, so we need to provide the best possible treatment. A hospital like Wyoming County [Community Hospital] is known for giving outstanding care, so is Oishei, but we've got to help them during this particular crisis. So I'm not alone in asking for this, but I'm using my clout as Majority Leader to get them to act."
Hear more from Friday's press conference in Warsaw available in the player below:
