From: Dr. Elaine Albert, Medical Director of Inpatient Access and Andrew Mullenix, Director of Patient Flow and Inpatient Access
- Seattle Children’s Emergency Department (ED) has had a sustained census above 250% for multiple evenings this week.
- Inpatient acute care census has been greater than 100% for several days.
- Air quality is currently unhealthy for susceptible groups; we are seeing a significant increase in patients with respiratory distress.
- We continue to run under a disaster incident command structure and contingency status for staffing and space.
- It is imperative that providers manage patients in primary care whenever possible and appropriate. If sending patients to the ED, please always call our Communications Center first (206-987-8899).
- Please advise families to expect longer than typical wait times at our ED and that we are triaging patients to see the sickest patients first.
For more information:
- See our Emergency or Urgent Care Referral Guide.
- For patient care algorithms and other PCP resources, visit seattlechildrens.org/algorithms.
