The waiting area outside the emergency room has been one busy place the last couple of days. Hundreds of children are coming in sick, most with respiratory problems. He's just got congestion, a regular wintertime cold. Extra doctors and nurses have been called in to handle the heavy work load. No child is turned away here, but some get transferred to other hospitals.
Most people wait two hours or longer to see doctor.
It is worse this year. We have steadily increased the number of patients we've admitted to the hospital. After several warm winters, wet chilly weather hit early this fall. Children always get sick in winter, but this year, it's worse. A series of cold fronts has worsened the asthma of a lot of children, and triggered many bouts of infection.