As RSV surge continues, UPMC Children's adds tent to deal with influx of patients

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has put up a tent outside its Lawrenceville hospital so it is prepared to deal with the influx of patients sick with RSV, the director of the hospital’s emergency department said in a video shared on social media Monday.

“The tent is a space that gives eight to ten more beds,” Dr. Raymond Pitetti says in the video. “It is a way for us to increase our resources, right, the ability to see more kids in a timely manner.”

He described the tent as an another resource the hospital has to see patients.

With the rise of RSV cases and other illnesses, Raymond Pitetti, MD, director of the Emergency Department at UPMC Children’s, explains what options families have when getting the right care for their child. pic.twitter.com/PuTKDMuabK

— UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (@ChildrensPgh) November 7, 2022

The hospital has seen a spike in children respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the last six weeks, Pitetti told the Tribune-Review last week.

Children who are taken to the emergency room quickly undergo a triage assessment by a nurse to determine the severity of their illness, but the time it takes for them to be seen by a physician or be admitted to the hospital can be significantly longer, Pitetti said.

“We’re trying to be as proactive as we can, making sure that we have the resources in place to take care of any surges that might come in. No parent should ever be concerned about taking their child to our emergency department,” he said.

Related:

• Surge in RSV cases causing longer ER wait times at UPMC Children's Hospital

• What’s behind worrying RSV surge in U.S. children's hospitals?