A surge in respiratory illnesses is straining local hospital capacity.
Dr. Jason Kruger, chief medical officer of CHI St. Elizabeth, said its pediatric emergency room is "much busier than we have been the last few months."
Kruger said that because of a shortage of beds at Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, St. Elizabeth is keeping more of its own pediatric patients and also taking transfers from Bryan Health as well as smaller hospitals in other areas of Nebraska.
He said the crush is being caused by a combination of flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus cases, but particularly RSV.
"RSV seems more impactful than it has in the past," Kruger said.
The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department on Monday reported that it continues to see a significant increase in RSV cases locally, including outbreaks in at least 13 local child care facilities.
The department said there already have been 238 confirmed RSV cases in October in Lancaster County, nearly four times as many as there were in September.
The vast majority of the cases, 85%, have been in kids ages 5 and younger, with 66% in kids ages 2 and younger.
Kruger said most of the kids in the hospital are 2 years old or younger. He recommended that parents keep kids home from child care or school if they are sick with a respiratory illness.
RSV has caused issues statewide. According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the number of confirmed RSV cases actually fell last week, to 390, down from 461 the previous week, but that's more than twice as many cases as in the same week last year.
Also, the number of emergency room visits for RSV continued to rise, hitting 330 statewide last week, up from 278 the previous week. In the corresponding week in 2021, there were only 90 such visits.
Flu cases also are on the rise statewide, but the numbers are much smaller. There were 94 confirmed cases last week, up from 50 the previous week and 15 in the same week in 2021.
COVID-19 cases also are starting to increase after declining for much of late summer and early fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,405 new cases statewide last week, up from 1,127 the previous week.
Cases also have increased locally, with the Health Department's COVID-19 dashboard showing 224 last week, compared with 205 the previous week.
Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Director Pat Lopez said that while there is no vaccine for RSV, getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19 can help keep people out of the hospital.
"I urge residents to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and get their annual flu vaccine now to protect themselves and their families and help preserve hospital capacity,†Lopez said.
Kruger said COVID-19 cases are "smoldering" in the background right now, and a surge like last year, combined with higher flu and RSV activity, "has the potential to put a significant strain on the resources we have."