PROVIDENCE – The emergency department at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence is currently seeing long wait times, attributing the problem to an influx of COVID-19 cases, increasing behavioral health visits and ongoing staffing problems.
“Hasbro Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Department capacity is highly constrained right now,” said Kathleen Hart, a spokesperson for Lifespan Corp., which operates the children’s hospital. “We are seeing a very high volume of patients coming in for treatment. We prioritize the most urgent cases first, so patients who come in for minor illnesses may experience a very long wait time to be treated – possibly several hours.”
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Frank Overly, who serves as the department’s medical director, spoke to reporters on Thursday morning, seeking to bring attention to the situation. Overly said the hospital is facing a 25% staff shortage, with employees being offered overtime in an effort to fill he gaps.
“Unfortunately with COVID increasing in the community, and the behavioral health crisis, we don’t see this letting up right away,” Hart said.
Hart said the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Scale recently rated Hasbro Children’s Hospital as a 200, on a scale of 1 to 200, in its assessment of the overcrowding problem at the health care facility.
Lifespan said it’s encouraging parents to call their family pediatrician first for non-emergencies, hoping that pediatricians can make extended office hours available to their patients in need.
The company said it’s hoping families will be understanding of the delays and treat staff with courtesy amid the long waits.
“We ask that patients be kind to the staff who are doing the best that they can, after two plus years through the pandemic,” Hart said.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
