into the adult i.c.u. the healthcare system has shown flexibility in creating care spaces. o donnell: 36 stays are seeing elevated levels of rsv cases compared to this time last year and hospital at ten states are at or above 80% capacity. many hospitals converted pediatric beds to adult beds during the pandemic and some have not switched them back. despite the challenges, dr. paul biddinger urges parents to bring their child in at the first sign of respiratory dispress. we re doing everything we can to deliver the ware immediately in a timely fashion and will find a hospital bed for that patient. o donnell: agencies including the american academy of pediatrics are call on president biden to declare an emergency to help hospitals respond. and we ve got an update for you on baby alma, she s out of the ic doing well and breathing on her own. we also learned today the pilot of an american eagle flight suffered a medical emergency
mass general for children, three more are waiting for the bay. i ve never seen if my 26 years the capacity issues. there s no picu beds in the northeast. o donnell: a surge has hospitals nationwide struggling to treat patient like one-month-old alma. she went from breast feeding to being intubated in just one day, and i was so shocked. you re doing such a good job. o donnell: when she saw her baby gasping for air, gabriella boulting we want to the local hospital. alma was then transferred to mass general. it was a concern whether we would be able to find a bed. my husband and i called everyone we knew we could think of who had affiliation with the hospitals. o donnell: alma got a bed but had to wait more than six hours for it. eth not hyperbole to call it a crisis. o donnell: dr. paul biddinger oversees mass general s emergency preparedness and says the hospital has been forced to move some children
Massachusetts doctors say wait times at hospitals' emergency rooms are nearing historic highs; similar issues are being experienced at urgent care facilities