Update on Hospital and Emergency Department Capacity, COVID-19 and Chemotherapy Drug Supply at Seattle Children’s

Emergency Department and hospital volumes

• Patient volumes in the Emergency Department (ED) are typical for summer; we continue to experience surges and high patient acuity in the ED.
• Hospital census was higher this summer than in typical summers pre-pandemic. Significant planning is occurring to prepare for the fall/winter surge.

COVID-19

We are beginning to see increased SARS-CoV2 activity as our testing positivity is increasing; we expect rates to further rise with the start of school.

Chemotherapy drug supply

• The national shortage of chemotherapy drugs continues.
• We continue to monitor our supply closely and work with our distributors to ensure we have adequate quantities including methotrexate.
• We are coordinating our efforts regionally and nationally to look for long term solutions to ongoing medication shortages that impact patient care.