An Update on COVID-19 and Our Hospital Capacity
From: Dr. Brianna Enriquez, Medical Director of Emergency Management and Dr. Elaine Albert, Medical Director, Inpatient Access
Washington state:
- This has been a very challenging few months in the pandemic, as the omicron variant led to all-time highs in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
Meet Dr. Mignon Loh: Seattle Children’s New Leader of Cancer and Blood Disorders Care and Research
Seattle Children’s recently named Mignon Loh, MD, the new leader of Cancer and Blood Disorders Care and Research
Meet Dr. Mignon Loh
Seattle Children’s is thrilled to introduce Dr. Mignon Loh as our new leader of Cancer and Blood Disorders Care and Research. Dr. Loh joins us from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Benioff Children’s Hospitals, where her titles included Chief of Pediatric Oncology. Her vision: Keep Seattle Children’s at the leading edge of pediatric cancer and blood disorders care, while building on our research progress to make Seattle Children’s a driving force behind more advances that cure children worldwide.
Improving Timely EMS Treatment for Kids With Seizures: The PediDOSE Study
Seattle Children’s is participating in a new clinical trial in collaboration with King County Emergency Medical Services (EMS): the Pediatric Dose Optimization for Seizures in EMS (PediDOSE) study. In 2022, we will begin enrolling patients at Seattle Children’s over a period of four years in this multicenter, stepped-wedge design trial to compare paramedic-administered conventional and standardized dosing of midazolam for pediatric seizures in the out-of-hospital setting.
CMEs, Conferences and Events
- Practical Pediatrics for the Primary Care Provider. February 5, 2022, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (virtual). Category 1 CME. Learn more. Register now.
- Pediatric Mental Health CME Event hosted by the Partnership Access Line. February 26, 2022, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (virtual). Learn more. Register now.
Grand Rounds: February and March 2022
Provider Grand Rounds
Year-round on Thursdays from 8 to 9 a.m. Learn more.
- February 3, 2022: Acupuncture for Pain in Pediatrics: A Promising Non-Pharmacologic Therapy. Klavano Holistic Care Lecture. Shiu Lin Tsai, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics in Emergency Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center.
Referral Backlog Reduced to 24 to 36 Hours
Seattle Children’s has been able to significantly reduce the referral backlog that has slowed our intake process over the last two months. We are now taking 24 to 36 hours to process incoming referrals (which means to finalize them and put them in the queue) – down from 2 to 3 days earlier in January. They are triaged and scheduled after that. The backlog in referrals originated with unanticipated staffing shortages in our clinical intake team in December. We are continuing to train and onboard new staff to ensure prompt attention to all provider referrals. Thank you for your patience.
Seattle Children’s announces temporary suspension of COVID-19 testing for the community
Due to a shortage of testing reagents combined with a surge in demand for testing, we must temporarily decrease the number of COVID-19 tests administered at Seattle Children’s. We have temporarily suspended COVID-19 testing for the community. Effective immediately, we are not accepting referrals from primary care providers for COVID-19 testing.
An Update on COVID-19 and Our Hospital Capacity
Seattle Children’s system-wide number of positive COVID-19 swabs has been approximately doubling every week for the past four weeks and is about three times higher than any other time in the pandemic. Not only are the raw numbers increasing but our positivity rate has gone from about 2% a few weeks ago to nearly 20% last week.
Progress Update on Seattle Children’s Anti-Racism Work
A message from Seattle Children’s Executive Leadership Team
On December 9, 2021, Seattle Children’s released the first quarterly progress report on our Health Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan. The quarterly report is part of Seattle Children’s commitment to accountability as we systematically dismantle racism within the organization. There are eight recommendations in the action plan, each with action working towards a desired outcome.
