(WPRI) — As more people become infected with respiratory illnesses, some hospitals are seeing a shortage of hospital beds and high wait times in emergency rooms.
Southcoast Health, which owns Charlton in Fall River and Saint Luke’s in New Bedford, told 12 News there has been an influx of patients infected with the flu, COVID, pneumonia, and RSV.
Due to the uptick in illnesses, they have seen higher than anticipated wait times and in rare situations, delays in bed availability.
“The clinical teams at all three of our hospitals have been doing an excellent job triaging and caring for patients while ensuring they are all receiving high-quality care in a timely manner,” Executive Vice President Renee Clark said.
12 News has reached out to Brown University Health to see if their hospital system is seeing a similar trend.
Southcoast Health is encouraging everyone to stay up to date on vaccinations, do routine preventative screenings, and get care early in the right places.
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