Every inpatient bed at Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago has been full for more than six weeks.
Many of the patients at Comer Children’s have RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which can cause lung infections.
Some hospitals are sending ICU patients directly home once their cases are no longer acute, rather than to another floor.
Dr. Kevin Messacar, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said his hospital is accepting patients from five nearby states.
But suctioning can be tricky for parents, according to Dr. Elizabeth Schlaudecker, an infectious disease specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.