Primary Children’s Hospital announced Monday that about 50 elective, pre-planned surgeries will be delayed so the hospital can better treat an influx of patients with RSV and other respiratory infections. (Intermountain Health Care)
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SALT LAKE CITY – Primary Children’s Hospital announced Monday that about 50 elective, inpatient surgeries will be delayed so the hospital can treat more children with RSV and other respiratory illnesses.
“The hospital is delaying scheduled, non-emergency procedures and surgeries this week to provide optimal care and staffing and resources to better meet patient needs during this busy time,” the hospital said in a statement. The patient wants to sleep as much as possible.
Those 50 surgeries are about 10% of the surgeries scheduled for elementary school children this week. This is the second time this month that hospital administrators have decided to postpone elective surgeries due to an increase in the number of patients with respiratory diseases.
“We don’t take this step lightly,” said Dr. Andrew Pavia, the hospital’s pediatric infectious disease physician, at a press conference Monday afternoon.
Although the hospital has implemented many preventive measures to deal with the expected increase in the cold season, this year has seen an “unprecedented surge” in RSV, along with many cases of influenza and COVID-19, he said.
The hospital is currently operating at full capacity for surgery, which means they have converted some clinical areas into inpatient wards, placing two patients in rooms that would normally hold only one. Despite those efforts, the hospital is pushed to the limit and every day they are doing their best to get children sick enough to send them home and admit other sick children, he said.
“Our patient volumes are above normal winter surgery levels, and the hospital has been at or near capacity for consecutive weeks,” said Dustin Lipson, administrator of First Children’s Hospital. “This is coupled with the high volume of patients coming to the emergency room for various illnesses and injuries.”
The emergency room has set records for the number of babies seen in one day two of the past four days, Pavia said, making it “very busy.” The emergency room team was pushing to meet the needs of patients, but there was limited space for patients, which led to the decision to delay those elective and scheduled surgeries, Pavia said.
We took this step as a way to provide the best and safest care for children who need it.
– Dr. Andrew Pavia, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician
“We took this step as a way to provide the best and safest care for children who need it,” Pavia said. “Unfortunately, the cancellation of scheduled surgeries will cause problems for some families.”
Pavia said the best thing to do to help the hospital right now is to stay out of the ER and keep kids healthy and away from sick people. Mild symptoms in adults can easily be passed on to children, who then show more severe symptoms that require a hospital visit, he said.
“If not for yourself, do it for our community,” Pavia said of getting flu and Covid-19 vaccines. Flu shots, covid-19 vaccines, wearing a mask when symptoms appear, and more can prevent disease.
Because RSV and influenza haven’t peaked yet, Pavia said the hospital is expecting some tough weeks ahead. Primary infants are reassessed daily as to whether additional elective surgeries need to be delayed.
Elective surgeries that don’t require an overnight stay are still being performed routinely, but could be delayed if things get worse, Pavia said.
“I know how difficult this is for some of our families. We wouldn’t have done it if we had another choice,” Pavia said. “We don’t delay any operation that puts any child at risk. But we know that there will be some complications and maybe some cost.”
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