Ohio healthcare workers warn of ‘astronomical’ pediatric surge of COVID-19

Although coronavirus-related hospitalizations are starting to decline nationwide across all age groups, the rate of pediatric infections remains at an “unusually high” level, experts say.

Across the country, federal data shows nearly 2,000 children are currently hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. In recent weeks, as the viral outbreak in the South finally shows signs of appeasement, pediatric hospitalizations have fallen by more than 30%. However, on average, more than 250 children continue to be admitted to hospital each day with the virus.

In Ohio, which currently has the nation’s second-largest COVID-19 pediatric hospital admissions, the crisis in children remains at a critical level.

Frontline workers at the Dayton Children’s Hospital told ABC News they had seen a “record number” of patients positive for the virus since the highly infectious delta variant struck the state during summer.

“We are seeing an increase in our census which has been astronomical,” said head nurse Will Andres. “[It’s] pretty hard to keep your head above water day in and day out. “

More than 210 children are hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide as of Wednesday.

“We’re seeing more and more positive results. We’re seeing more and more people coming in and asking for tests. It’s just overwhelming,” said Amy Temple, pediatric emergency room nurse.

Earlier this month, the CEOs of Ohio’s six children’s hospitals partnered with the Ohio Children’s Hospitals Association to sound the alarm bells over the significant increase in the number of children hospitalized with the coronavirus.

“It’s a reality for us today. And it threatens the capacity of our pediatric safety net in ways we’ve never experienced before,” the group wrote in a letter.

Many frontline workers have reported that children appear to be getting sicker than at previous points in the pandemic, especially adolescents who have not been vaccinated.

“Some of these children get very sick. They need extra help to be able to breathe. We have to do a lot of extra procedures, whether it’s putting on a breathing tube and putting on a ventilator or just a mask. to provide oxygenation and ventilation, ”explained Hilary O’Neill, respiratory therapist at Dayton Children’s Hospital. “There are definitely a lot more sick people than we have ever seen before.”

The influx of patients needing care has left some frontline workers feeling overwhelmed, overworked and mentally exhausted.

“At this point I’m emotionally exhausted. The kids are getting sicker and sicker and we are busy, and every day we go in and there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel,” Temple said.

Michele Nadolsky, a clinical team leader in the emergency room and a 28-year veteran of the hospital, added that she felt an “overwhelming sense of defeat”, especially as a “large” number of Nurses are leaving the company, resulting in staffing shortages.

Although serious illness in children remains “rare,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, the potential for long-term consequences in children who test positive for the virus is still of concern.

“One of our biggest concerns is what will happen in six months to a year, once the child has recovered from the acute illness of COVID-19, and what kind of symptoms or symptoms? Long term effect is this going to have on them as they continue to grow and mature, ”Nadolsky said.

Another worrying trend, said a doctor, is the notable number of children who are often forced to stay alone in hospital because their parents are battling COVID-19.

“I think most of the time children who have COVID infections have another family member, often an adult, who is also sick with COVID,” said Amit Vohra, a pediatric intensivist at the hospital. “These parents cannot visit the children in the hospital. A lot of times no one is here with them for a few hours a day. So that’s when I think our nurses step in to provide that level. emotional support that children need … These children are often short of breath, their chest hurts. They are short of breath, they are anxious, they worry, “Are they going to die?”

The most difficult part of all of this, according to Karen Davis, a pediatric intensive care nurse, was seeing so many children suffering from the disease.

“I am a mother and a grandmother, so I feel fair for the children who struggle so hard… I take care of them, like I would like them to take care of my child,” said an emotional Davis. “One of the biggest fears parents have about caring for their children is that they may die and not be able to be released from the hospital alive.”