- The Children’s Hospital Association, which represents over 220 children’s hospitals, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents 67,000 children’s doctors, wrote in a letter last week to President Biden and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra saying over three-quarters of pediatric hospital beds across the country are full.
- Many states are in fact reporting that about 90% of their pediatric beds are occupied, the letter also states.
- “These unprecedented levels of RSV happening with growing flu rates, ongoing high numbers of children in mental health crisis and serious workforce shortages are combining to stretch pediatric care capacity at the hospital and community level to the breaking point,” the pediatric medicine groups also wrote.
- The groups appear to want the emergency declaration to trigger emergency funding support.
