The flood of children sick with respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, along with patients who have influenza and COVID-19 have led two Michigan hospitals to file emergency appeals to state health regulators to expand hospital bed capacity.
Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital submitted an Emergency Certificate of Need request with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services late last week, asking to add 48 beds to its Grand Rapids hospital and designate 117 beds as intensive care beds.
OSF Healthcare St. Francis Hospital & Medical Group in Escanaba submitted a similar emergency request to add 24 beds.
“We are in the middle of what some people might call an unprecedented surge in not only RSV respiratory syncytial virus infections, but also many other viral infections that are causing patients to be admitted to the hospital,” said Dr. Hossain Marandi, president of DeVos Children’s. “We are seeing some of the highest numbers on our floors that we have seen.”
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About one-third of the children being treated Tuesday at DeVos Children’s had RSV, he said.
The emergency appeal for more licensed beds will “provide us with a certificate of need for additional ICU beds in order for us to continue to provide the care that we do. We are still awaiting response for that to be able to make sure that we abide by all the governing laws of the state of Michigan. … Meanwhile, we are continuing to look for ways to care for these kids as we go through the process with the state to make sure that we have everything squared away from a legal standpoint.”
In the Upper Peninsula, OSF St. Francis is “currently surging beyond capacity due to the sustained increase in respiratory illness, specifically RSV in pediatric patients, and COVID-19 and RSV in adult patients,” wrote Tulika Bhattacharya, manager of the state’s Certificate of Need evaluation section, in a letter dated Monday, approving the 24-bed expansion for up to six months.
In a statement issued Tuesday, OSF St. Francis leaders said expanding hospital capacity was “a proactive measure.”
“This is a preemptive step to best serve our community if there is an increase in hospitalizations or limited bed capacity at our regional transfer facilities,” the statement said. “We have also taken additional precautionary measures to reduce the number of support persons permitted in our facility while continuing to restrict visitors to limit potential exposure.”
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At DeVos, although the number of patients seeking hospital care for RSV has fallen slightly in the last week, Marandi said he’s concerned that the Thanksgiving holiday could drive numbers back up again.
“We don’t know what the future is going to bring,” Marandi said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen with RSV itself or with flu as it comes or with any other virus that we might see as the seasons change. So we want to make sure that we’re fully prepared and capable of taking care of those kids. … We have extended our ICUs and we continue to flex those beds as the need arises. There are multiple patients that are ventilated.
“We’re actually getting a lot of transfers in from many other hospitals that are incapable of taking care of some of these patients because of either lack of services or beds or other things. … We are the referring center … receiving transfers from many different places … within the state of Michigan but even beyond the borders of Michigan.”
The hospital is doubling up patients in single rooms where it can, and in some cases, families with more than one severely ill child share a room, Marandi said.
“We are seeing multiple siblings that are being admitted, especially … under 1 year of age,” Marandi said.
In southeastern Michigan, the RSV surge appears to be waning, said Dr. Whitney Minnock, pediatric chief of the emergency center at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak.
The number of kids seeking treatment for RSV at the eight hospitals and three emergency centers run by Corewell Health East, formerly known as Beaumont Health, dropped about 47% over the past three weeks, Minnock said.
“Minute-by-minute, day-by-day, things do change,” she said. “But I think that we’ve opened up quite a few beds and we are not currently asking for any emergency help.
“As far as what Thanksgiving and the holidays will bring, it is very difficult to tell. … In addition to RSV, I think that there are other viruses, particularly influenza, that we’re going to have to stand guard and … keep our precautions in place. I can’t say what that’s going to do as far as ICU and ventilator capacity.”
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Dr. Rahul Mehta, chief of emergency medicine at Trinity Health Oakland, told the Free Press on Tuesday that the wave of patients needing medical care for RSV appears to have stabilized at the Pontiac hospital as well, but the emergency department is beginning to see a rise now in flu cases.
“It’s slowly coming,” he said. “There’s a term called the triple-demic, where we have COVID, RSV and flu, all kind of hitting. RSV seems to be stabilizing. COVID seems to be in a steady state and flu seems to be rising. But which is higher, which is lower, that’s all relative based on the age and symptoms of the patient.”
Chelsea Wuth, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said it’s difficult to track spikes in RSV cases because it’s not a disease that is required to be reported to public health departments. However, some RSV surveillance data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests “a bit of decline” in Michigan.
However, Laura Appel, executive vice president of government relations and public policy for the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, said: “It’s worth noting that even where hospitalizations have receded, many of our members continue to face severe space and staffing challenges.”
Wuth urged families with severely ill children to go to the closest emergency medical facility, “not one that may or may not have an open bed. Providers will be able to assess the child and transfer them to a hospital with the correct level of care if necessary.”
The state health department also recommends:
- Staying home when sick.
- Staying up to date on flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
- Avoiding close contact with those who are sick.
- Washing hands frequently.
- Covering coughs and sneezes.
- Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
- Considering wearing a mask if you are at high risk for severe illness or are concerned about contracting or transmitting respiratory viruses.
- Finding out if you are eligible for treatment options in advance of illness.
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. Subscribe to the Free Press.
