Dayton Children’s opens ‘Kids Express’ location, sees steady amount of respiratory illnesses

Health officials have seen an alarming number of pediatric pneumonia cases this fall.

Warren County Health District had so many cases that it met the Ohio Department of Health’s definition of an outbreak.

With cases like RSV and pneumonia on the rise in kids, emergency rooms like the one at Dayton Children’s are very busy.

“If you can’t get into your pediatrician, Kids Express is a nice backup,” Lisa Ziemnik said.

Ziemnik is the division chief for Urgent Care and Kids Express with Dayton Children’s.

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“This is our second day and it has been steady since the doors opened yesterday,” Ziemnik said.

Nurse Practitioner Jill Hazlett said they are booked.

“We have a lot of upper respiratory things going on. You’ve got some pneumonia, RSV, flu, COVID all the things,” she said.

According to the Warren County Health District, there have been 142 cases of pediatric pneumonia reported.

The health district is currently looking into the possible links and risk factors.

“Pneumonia typically runs hand in hand with viruses. So the more viral illnesses we see in kids, the more pneumonia we’re going to identify,” Ziemnik said.

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She said early signs of pneumonia are often cough, runny nose, congestion, fever, and fatigue.

The difference with pneumonia is those symptoms tend to get progressively worse.

“They’re fatigued, they’re laying on the count and you’re like ‘Well this isn’t my kid,’” Ziemnik said.

The only way to confirm if it’s pneumonia is to see a health provider.

“We need to listen to those lung fields, see if they are open, see if they’re not and that’s really where the diagnosis comes in,” Ziemnik said.

She said a good way to get ahead of these illnesses is to get your kid their flu shot and COVID-19 vaccines.