As parents plan for holiday travel and gatherings, Washington state pediatric hospitals are navigating capacity and staffing issues that are putting significant strain on providers. Facilities around the state are operating at 100% capacity on a regular basis, with some, like Seattle Children's, facing 300% capacity in the evenings. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has put significant additional strain on crowding of pediatric beds in hospitals around the country. Hospitals are encouraging families to do what they can to prevent the spread of the virus, along with educating parents on when a child should go to the hospital. Most cases of RSV do not require hospitalization, but if an infant is having trouble breathing or is dehydrated, parents should seek care. Makaila Battles of Enumclaw hopes to raise awareness among other parents about the seriousness of the illness and the importance of preventing spread where possible. She said her then 3-week-old son Baker was diagnosed with RSV last December. She said the symptoms came on quickly and aggressively, with him feeling fine one day and waking up the next very sick. "We went to Mary Bridge and they were amazing," Battles said. "I was a wreck because my husband and daughter had RSV really bad because it affects adults, too, so he couldn't come with me. It was just me and my son and they made sure I had everything I needed, and they were just so caring." READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/washington-pediatric-hospitals-crisis-rsv/281-b8fc2eac-657c-429a-8b03-3c8a38124d0f