For the second year in a row, Cook Children’s Emergency Department and Urgent Care Centers are seeing a big influx of parents bringing in children who have been exposed to COVID-19 but show no symptoms. This is causing long wait times at all locations and putting unnecessary strain on the health care system.

On Monday, Aug. 29, our Emergency Department (ED) staff saw 614 patients, which is equivalent to a patient checking in every 2 minutes for 24 hours straight. That’s nearly double the number of patients we typically see in the ED. Our seven Urgent Care Centers (UCC) saw 873 patients, which is also much more than usual.

“We are seeing patient volumes equivalent to our worst winters, and it’s taking a toll on our staff,” said Kara Starnes, D.O., medical director of Cook Children’s Urgent Care. “We need everyone’s help by staying home if you only need a COVID test or if your child has mild symptoms.”

Currently, 23% of COVID tests at Cook Children’s UCCs are coming back positive. In addition to COVID, Dr. Starnes says they are seeing a lot of colds.

“If your child tests positive for COVID at home, you can trust the test. You don’t need to have a health care provider confirm the results,” Dr. Starnes said. “If a COVID test comes back negative, it’s safe to monitor minor symptoms at home and re-test in 48 hours.”

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to reach out to their primary care physicians if their child is not feeling well.

Cook Children’s experienced a very similar situation in August 2021, likely triggered by kids going back to school.

Please avoid the emergency room and UCCS for COVID-19 testing. If your child has been exposed to COVID-19, please use an at-home test or schedule an appointment with a testing location such as a pharmacy.

“If your child needs emergency care treatment, our Emergency Department is here for you. That’s why we’re here,” said Natalie Carpenter, director of Emergency Services at Cook Children's. “But please don’t come to the emergency department for a simple COVID test.”

The ED should only be used for COVID-19 symptoms such as:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

If you are going to the ED, please limit the number of people you bring with you (if possible).

Where do you go when your child needs to be seen by a doctor?

Here’s a guide:

• Go to the emergency room if your child has trouble breathing, unusual sleepiness or confusion, poison ingestion, head injury with vomiting, serious burn or another life-threatening condition. 
   
• Call your health care provider if your child has ear pain, sore throat, diarrhea or vomiting, rash, cough or other non-urgent health concerns. The pediatrician’s office can help you decide what steps to take. 
   
• If you can’t get to your provider’s office or it’s after hours, go to an urgent care center. Urgent care centers manage the same problems as your regular health care provider plus services such as X-rays, stitches and splints.

Free COVID Tests Still Available to be Delivered to Your Home

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order three rounds of at-home COVID-19 test kits from the government. You can easily sign up at covid.gov/tests and have the tests delivered to your home. The last day to order tests is Friday, Sept. 2.

For detailed information about what to do if your child tests positive or negative, download the PDFs attached to this article. 

Cook Children’s Health Care System is among 33 hospitals in the world to receive the coveted Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). The group recognized Cook Children’s Emergency Department (ED) for demonstrating exceptional and innovative performance through leadership, practices, education, advocacy and research. The award is given to health care institutions both in the U.S. and internationally, and is a visible symbol of commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment.

“Despite dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our emergency department leadership carved out time to showcase the preeminent and pioneering work their teams are doing each day,” said Rick W. Merrill, president and CEO of Cook Children’s. “This uniquely special award is a testament to this team’s daily commitment to excellence; and on behalf of our entire leadership team, we are extremely proud of this accomplishment.”

Some of the key initiatives that helped Cook Children’s win the Lantern Award include:

• Implementation of a sepsis-screening process
• Suicide-risk assessments for all ED patients over the age of 10
• Enactment of a COVID-19 command center response team
• Routine disaster drills, including participation in community exercises
• Critical stress management training to help build resiliency for ED staff before and after stressful events
• Improvements in the blood culture process

“We’re proud to have an emergency department staffed with nurses who go above and beyond every day to do the very best for the children and families in our care,” said Cheryl Petersen, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Cook Children’s. “This is the first time we have received this award, but I can truly say our staff has a long history of exceptional performance. We’re simply excited to know leaders outside of Cook Children’s are taking notice of their great work.”

The ENA Lantern Award is named in honor of Florence Nightingale, who worked to improve and change nursing in the 19^th century. A list of all 33 Lantern Award winners can be viewed here.

In 2015, 463 people wre killed in distracted driving crashes in Texas and 3,000 more were seriously hurt

A study by AT&T states that nearly 4-in-10 smartphone users look at social media while driving and about 30 percent surf the net while driving.

The Texas Department of Transportation has begun its annual "Talk, Text, Crash" campaign this month, in hopes of stopping texting while driving and to decrease driving distractions. TxDOT reports that 1 in 5 traffic crashes happen because of "texting, talking and other distractions."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, texting while driving:

• Impairs driving ability as much as drinking four beers.
• Increases crash risk by 23 times.
• Causes 1.6 million wrecks and 330,000 injuries each year.
• Accounts for 11 teen deaths every day.

Teens may even be aware of the danger, but in the teenage mind, the need to stay in touch often outweighs the need to stay safe.

"Kids who are learning to drive right now have grown up with smartphones and cell phones, so it seems natural to stay connected to their friends all the time," said Sam McCage, Ph.D., LMFT, LPC, manager of Behavioral Health Services at Cook Children's. "When teenagers don't respond immediately to texts, they might feel that they're being rude or will miss out on something important."

McCage said parents should talk to their kids about the dangers of being distracted on the road, but they should also be a good example for their children. Studies show that:

• 48 percent of young drivers have seen their parents drive while talking on the phone.
• 15 percent of young drivers have seen their parents text while driving.
• 48 percent of children ages 12-17 have been in a car while the driver was texting.

And for that extra measure of safety, mobile apps can block messages from being sent while your child is driving and there are devices which can stop all phone use while the vehicle is in motion.

The Emergency Department at Cook Children’s sees eye and face injuries from projectiles (fireworks that launch or that have parts that explode off), hand and finger injuries from holding items while they explode and burns of every type, especially when children are running around barefoot.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)’s annual death and injury report on fireworks incidents indicates that nearly half of these injuries occurred to children younger than 15 years of age. The culprits? Firecrackers, bottle rockets and sparklers – yes, sparklers.

Sparklers are considered by many to be the “safe” firework. But even an innocent looking sparkler can get as hot as the flame on some blow torches and can easily ignite clothing?

“Every firework has its dangers and there simply isn’t one that I would consider completely safe,” said Justin Smith, M.D., a pediatrician in Lewisville. “Parents would be safest to take their children to an event and watch fireworks. You will have a good time and can view from a distance.”

Remind your friends and neighbors, before they touch a flame to any fireworks, to make sure it’s legal to do so where they live.

Prevent the Tragedies

If fireworks can be used legally where you live and you do want to use them, here are a few guidelines CPSC recommends they follow:

1. Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks. Adults should always supervise fireworks activities.
2. Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that fizzle and don’t go off.
3. Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
4. Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap. After fireworks fully complete their functioning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding to prevent a fire.

More guidelines are at CPSC’s Fireworks Information Center. 

A few days later we went to an allergist who had to prick his back 100 times to tell me he is deathly allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish and eggs. I learned this information almost 10 years ago and despite my best efforts to educate my son and everyone in my family, I still make mistakes. These *#!@ foods can be hidden.

Here’s my top 5 list of the strangest places to find deadly allergic foods:

1. Hamburger patties and meatballs. Eggs can be used as a binder in these.
2. Kids multivitamins. Check these for fish oil.
3. Frying oil. Ask every restaurant every time if they use peanut oil. Someone different could order the oil from the last time you ate there.
4. My own mouth. I stopped eating all nuts in case he drank after me or I gave him a bite from my fork.
5. Read all food labels. I have found egg in bubble gum.

Where have you found allergic foods? Please share.