BOZEMAN - The Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital is filling up with patients who are sick with the flu, COVID-19, and RSV.
“We are seeing more influenza this year. Last year we had very very high numbers of COVID in the hospital at this time. Now it's more of a mix of influenza. And definitely RSV for children," said Bozeman Health Deaconess Chief Nursing Officer Dianne Patterson.
Dani Morrison's 3-year-old son, Saige, started out with the flu and was later hospitalized with RSV.
“He started off over a week ago with the flu and it really just he wasn't getting better," said Morrison, "They just told us to watch his fever. And then if he didn't stop then to come back in a couple of days, which he didn't stop.”
Morrison warns other parents that RSV is more serious than they may think, "RSV is misunderstood to where how aggressive it can be."
So far this season, there have been a total of 36 influenza-related hospitalizations.
Since last January, there have been 403 COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
RSV is not a reportable disease in Montana, but there is almost a 16% positivity rate.
Although these numbers seem high, Patterson says this is not the peak.
“My guess it'll be after the holidays because people are going to be getting together," says Patterson. "That's going to create an even bigger surge in January.”
While Bozeman Health and Big Sky Medical center are filling up with sick adults and children, Patterson says all patients will be treated.
“We're not sending any patients away. We are taking patients as they come in and need our services,” says Patterson.
She also says people need to be cautious and aware of their symptoms.
“Any symptoms that you might have like congestion, headache, fever, coughing,” says Patterson.
We spoke to a pediatric critical care physician here in Missoula about what Western Montana could experience with RSV, the flu, and COVID-19 in the coming months.
"It becomes very difficult to predict because we also started seeing RSV over the summer which; I've been doing this for 25 years and I've never seen RSV in the summer before. So, I really think it's hard to know,” said Dr. Alexander Kon with Community Merical Center Pediatric Critical Care. “It's possible that things may trail off and we'll do really well. It's very possible that we're going to have another big surge in January and February and that would be difficult for us on an ongoing basis.”
- information from Jill Valley included in this report
