Hospital beds in D.M. fill up with sick kids
Most of the children are suffering from a respiratory virus or fever, officials say.
JENNIFER JACOBS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
February 23, 2006
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/NEWS08/602230385/1001/NEWS
Children's wings in Des Moines hospitals are jammed with youngsters with upper respiratory ailments, and local schools are plagued with empty seats, including three schools that reported that more than 10 percent of the children were absent on recent days.
The Des Moines area is among the hardest-hit in the state.
"There are a lot of sick children in the city right now," said Amy Leister, nurse manager on the pediatric floor at Blank Children's Hospital, where all 43 beds have been full during some recent periods. "For the past few weeks, we've seen a dramatic increase in children who are ill, especially younger children."
Doctors are diagnosing mostly cases of respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, with its barky cough, runny nose, breathing trouble and vomiting; or rotavirus with fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
The number of influenza cases is still low, state and hospital officials said.
"But it's really going to get going in the next week or two," state epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk said. "The indications are that we might see this sort of epidemic starting soon."
It's not lot too late to get a flu shot - and Quinlisk recommends it, especially for children who already have suffered from another respiratory ailment this season. About 1,000 Iowans die each year of influenza and pneumonia; most 65 and older.
Nine-month-old Zachariah Wennerstrom of West Des Moines died Monday at Blank Children's Hospital. He tested positive for influenza A but died from other complications, relatives said.
"Parents know their children," his mother, Jantina Wennerstrom, said Wednesday. "If they think something is wrong, I just want to stress the idea of pursuing treatment. If you're dissatisfied, pursue a second opinion, because you have nothing to lose."
Leister said that over the last week, Blank Children's Hospital has had 35 to 43 patients at any given time.
When the 37 private rooms and six semiprivate beds are full, children are placed in unused pediatric intensive-care beds.
Hospitalization is necessary when children need oxygen therapy or intravenous therapy if they're unable to eat or drink, she said.
Two hospitals - Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran Hospital - are considered full now, with 345 patients and 265 patients respectively spokeswoman Jennifer Perry said.
"We are extremely, extremely busy at both of those campuses," Perry said. "If you come to the ER, you're going to wait because it's so busy. If you need to be admitted, you're going to wait in the ER until they discharge someone else. So stay home and stay healthy. Easier said than done, right?"
Des Moines-area residents should keep walk-in clinics in mind but shouldn't avoid hospitals if they are urgently ill, she said.
Mercy Medical Center's 22-bed children's center is overflowing, said spokesman Gregg Lagan.
"This has been going on for a little over a week and a half," he said. "It's a combination of RSV and influenza A."
On Wednesday morning, there were 24 children. The extra two patients were moved into pediatric intensive-care beds. Older teens who normally would be treated in pediatrics are being placed in adult units.
As many as 40 to 60 children were absent from Holy Trinity Catholic School in Des Moines on any given day during the last eight days.
That's 10 percent to 15 percent of the student body, said school secretary Terry Farrell.
"It just felt like it was a walk-in clinic here, not a school office," Farrell said in between coughs. "We say, 'If they could just keep them at home and not send them back earlier.' Our policy is they have to be fever-free for 24 hours."
A fourth-grade class field trip to an Underground Railroad site was canceled because half the pupils were absent, she said.
Indian Hills Junior High in West Des Moines and Southeast Polk Junior High also reported an absentee rate of more than 10 percent over a three- or four-day period.
"It was a lot of fevers and throwing up. Sometimes they get too descriptive, so I try not to listen," said Toni Wiemers, the principal's secretary, who handles attendance at Indian Hills.
Valentine's Day was the worst, with 92 students absent out of 364, Wiemers said. Indian Hills' attendance is back to normal now.
Around the state, hospital traffic varied Wednesday.
"We are in a better state than you guys in Des Moines," said Kristin Schaefer, spokeswoman for Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo. "We're not seeing anything out of the norm."
Genensis Medical Center's 16-bed pediatric unit in Davenport was not at capacity Wednesday.
St. Luke's in Cedar Rapids is "a little high," with 21 children in 22 pediatric beds with rotavirus and RSV. But there have been as many as 26 this week, a spokeswoman said.
Most of the children are suffering from a respiratory virus or fever, officials say.
JENNIFER JACOBS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
February 23, 2006
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/NEWS08/602230385/1001/NEWS
Children's wings in Des Moines hospitals are jammed with youngsters with upper respiratory ailments, and local schools are plagued with empty seats, including three schools that reported that more than 10 percent of the children were absent on recent days.
The Des Moines area is among the hardest-hit in the state.
"There are a lot of sick children in the city right now," said Amy Leister, nurse manager on the pediatric floor at Blank Children's Hospital, where all 43 beds have been full during some recent periods. "For the past few weeks, we've seen a dramatic increase in children who are ill, especially younger children."
Doctors are diagnosing mostly cases of respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, with its barky cough, runny nose, breathing trouble and vomiting; or rotavirus with fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
The number of influenza cases is still low, state and hospital officials said.
"But it's really going to get going in the next week or two," state epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk said. "The indications are that we might see this sort of epidemic starting soon."
It's not lot too late to get a flu shot - and Quinlisk recommends it, especially for children who already have suffered from another respiratory ailment this season. About 1,000 Iowans die each year of influenza and pneumonia; most 65 and older.
Nine-month-old Zachariah Wennerstrom of West Des Moines died Monday at Blank Children's Hospital. He tested positive for influenza A but died from other complications, relatives said.
"Parents know their children," his mother, Jantina Wennerstrom, said Wednesday. "If they think something is wrong, I just want to stress the idea of pursuing treatment. If you're dissatisfied, pursue a second opinion, because you have nothing to lose."
Leister said that over the last week, Blank Children's Hospital has had 35 to 43 patients at any given time.
When the 37 private rooms and six semiprivate beds are full, children are placed in unused pediatric intensive-care beds.
Hospitalization is necessary when children need oxygen therapy or intravenous therapy if they're unable to eat or drink, she said.
Two hospitals - Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran Hospital - are considered full now, with 345 patients and 265 patients respectively spokeswoman Jennifer Perry said.
"We are extremely, extremely busy at both of those campuses," Perry said. "If you come to the ER, you're going to wait because it's so busy. If you need to be admitted, you're going to wait in the ER until they discharge someone else. So stay home and stay healthy. Easier said than done, right?"
Des Moines-area residents should keep walk-in clinics in mind but shouldn't avoid hospitals if they are urgently ill, she said.
Mercy Medical Center's 22-bed children's center is overflowing, said spokesman Gregg Lagan.
"This has been going on for a little over a week and a half," he said. "It's a combination of RSV and influenza A."
On Wednesday morning, there were 24 children. The extra two patients were moved into pediatric intensive-care beds. Older teens who normally would be treated in pediatrics are being placed in adult units.
As many as 40 to 60 children were absent from Holy Trinity Catholic School in Des Moines on any given day during the last eight days.
That's 10 percent to 15 percent of the student body, said school secretary Terry Farrell.
"It just felt like it was a walk-in clinic here, not a school office," Farrell said in between coughs. "We say, 'If they could just keep them at home and not send them back earlier.' Our policy is they have to be fever-free for 24 hours."
A fourth-grade class field trip to an Underground Railroad site was canceled because half the pupils were absent, she said.
Indian Hills Junior High in West Des Moines and Southeast Polk Junior High also reported an absentee rate of more than 10 percent over a three- or four-day period.
"It was a lot of fevers and throwing up. Sometimes they get too descriptive, so I try not to listen," said Toni Wiemers, the principal's secretary, who handles attendance at Indian Hills.
Valentine's Day was the worst, with 92 students absent out of 364, Wiemers said. Indian Hills' attendance is back to normal now.
Around the state, hospital traffic varied Wednesday.
"We are in a better state than you guys in Des Moines," said Kristin Schaefer, spokeswoman for Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo. "We're not seeing anything out of the norm."
Genensis Medical Center's 16-bed pediatric unit in Davenport was not at capacity Wednesday.
St. Luke's in Cedar Rapids is "a little high," with 21 children in 22 pediatric beds with rotavirus and RSV. But there have been as many as 26 this week, a spokeswoman said.