Update: Pediatric care at Providence Portland Medical Center

sick child with oxygen support

Dec. 2, 2022

PROVIDENCE PORTLAND MEDICAL CENTER – We are now responding to a surge of patients in our pediatric units. Under guidance from the Oregon Health Authority, we have activated crisis standards of care. This allows us to make changes, including adjusting staffing, in order to provide the best possible care.

Your health care team will let you know if your care is affected. If you have questions, please speak to a member of your care team.

You can read more about this change below. Thank you for choosing Providence.


Actualizado: cuidados pediátricos

Providence Portland está respondiendo ante el aumento de pacientes en nuestras unidades de pediatría. Bajo la dirección de la Autoridad de Salud de Oregon (OHA), hemos activado los estándares de crisis de atención médica. Con ello podremos hacer cambios –incluso en torno a ajustes de nuestro personal– con el fin de brindar los mejores cuidados posibles.

El equipo que atiende su salud le hará saber si habrá algún cambio. Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor hable con dicho personal.  

Gracias por preferir a Providence.  


Cập nhật: Chăm sóc Nhi khoa

Providence Portland đang ứng phó với số lượng bệnh nhân tăng đột biến trong các đơn vị chăm sóc nhi khoa của chúng tôi. Theo hướng dẫn từ Oregon Health Authority (Cơ quan Quản lý Y tế Oregon), chúng tôi đã kích hoạt các tiêu chuẩn chăm sóc trong khủng hoảng. Việc này cho phép chúng tôi đưa ra những thay đổi, bao gồm việc điều chỉnh nhân sự, để cung cấp dịch vụ chăm sóc tốt nhất có thể.

Nhóm chăm sóc sức khỏe của quý vị sẽ báo cho quý vị biết nếu dịch vụ chăm sóc của quý vị bị ảnh hưởng. Nếu quý vị có thắc mắc, vui lòng nói chuyện với một thành viên nhóm chăm sóc của quý vị.

Cảm ơn quý vị đã chọn Providence.


最新信息:儿科护理

Providence Portland 正在应对儿科病房患者激增的情况。在俄勒冈州卫生局的指导下,我们启动了危机护理标准。这样我们就能够做出一些改变,包括调整人员的配置,从而提供最好的护理。

如果您的护理受到影响,您的医疗保健团队会通知您。如果有任何疑问,请咨询您的护理团队成员。

感谢您选择 Providence。


Обновлено: Педиатрическая помощь

Ответные меры Providence Portland на резкое увеличение численности пациентов в наших педиатрических отделениях В соответствии с директивой Управления здравоохранения штата Орегон нами введены кризисные стандарты оказания медпомощи. Это позволяет нам вносить изменения, в том числе корректировать штатное расписание и тем самым обеспечивать медобслуживание на максимально возможном уровне.

Бригада медработников уведомит вас, если эти меры каким-либо образом повлияют на ваше медобслуживание. При возникновении каких-либо вопросов обратитесь к работникам бригады медпомощи.

Благодарим вас, что выбрали Providence.


Providence Portland takes steps to manage capacity, maximize care

Along with health systems across Oregon and nationwide, Providence is seeing a high number of babies and young children with RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, requiring hospitalization. In order to maximize the number of pediatric patients we can care for, Providence Portland Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit is moving into crisis care standards, as specified by the Oregon Health Authority. This will help us manage capacity to address the overwhelming demand for hospital services.

The Oregon Health Authority says that this change is activated when patient care resources are severely limited, the number of patients presenting for care exceeds capacity, and there is no option to transfer patients to other acute or critical care facilities. Today, in the Portland metro region, we meet that criteria.

This step includes an interim crisis care tool from OHA to help hospitals make triage decisions and allocate scarce resources equitably. However, at this time, we are not making triage care decisions. Instead, we are using the OHA guidance to maximize all of our resources, including staffing.

Our Providence Mission calls us to provide care for everyone who comes to us, and we recognize that making decisions about allocating scarce resources is emotional and complex, especially for our front-line caregivers. Their dedication to providing compassionate, high-quality care is the reason they became people of Providence.

We also recognize that this declaration gives us the flexibility to adjust staffing plans and allocate more resources in areas where this might be needed, including staffing and nontraditional units of care for adolescents. In addition, patient care responsibilities might change from our registered nurses to our respiratory therapists, and other caregivers may be used to support assignments with more patients or increased acuity.

Continuum of care definitions

As described in the Oregon Health Authority’s Interim Crisis Care Tool, hospitals experience surge capacity during a disaster on a care continuum. The OHA uses standard definitions from the Institute of Medicine which describe three phases of capacity status: conventional, contingency and crisis: 

  • Conventional capacity: Hospitals have the spaces, staff and supplies to meet usual daily needs for patient care. 
  • Contingency capacity: Hospitals can temporarily adjust spaces and practices to make up for a shortage of spaces, staff and supplies. 
  • Crisis capacity: Hospitals must significantly change standards of care because:  
    • Resources are severely limited. 
    • More patients need critical care than hospitals can supply. 
    • Moving patients to another critical care center is not an option. 

 We will provide updates as conditions change.