Silver Spring

Maryland Mom Warns About Overwhelmed Hospitals After Son With RSV Couldn't Get ICU Bed For a Week

A mother said it was an eye-opening experience that left her concerned about the potential for overwhelmed hospital systems in the DMV. 

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A Maryland mother is sharing her story after her young son was hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and doctors scrambled to find an available pediatric ICU bed.

She said it was an eye-opening experience that left her concerned about the potential for overwhelmed hospital systems in the DMV. 

“This is just going to continue. We are just starting flu season and these beds are not all of a sudden appearing,” Kristi Maeng said.

Maeng said her 6-year-old son, JoJo, was hospitalized in the emergency room at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the fall, which was a struggle because those rooms are not designed for the longterm care of sick children.

Additionally, the ER was difficult because Maeng was constantly talking to different doctors and nurses about her son.

After a week in the ER, doctors were able to eventually find a pediatric ICU bed for JoJo in Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital, where he stayed for another four days as he recovered and received high-flow oxygen to help him with his breathing.

According to data from the Maryland Department of Health’s new RSV dashboard, the state had 129 people hospitalized due to the virus as of last week, among the highest numbers recorded in the last five years. An NBC News analysis of federal hospital data found 78% of pediatric hospital beds were full nationwide just last week.

While JoJo is doing much better, his mother said it was a wake up call for her, and she hopes more is done to support the DMV’s strained hospital system.

“I think this needs to get out. The word needs to get out,” Maeng said. “We all need to be understanding that, you know, it’s not the doctors. It’s not the nurses. It’s the system, and the system needs fixing right now.”

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