MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More children were shot, injured in accidents or abused during the pandemic months based on the patients the trauma unit has seen at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital.
The hospital reports acute trauma cases are up and they're calling it the "COVID fallout".
Dr. Regan Williams, Le Bonheur Trauma Services Medical Director, said even when she's not at work, she gets a notification every time a child trauma patient comes in.
“It became instead of one having injury a week to now it’s becoming every day and the injuries we’re getting are more severe," Dr. Williams said.
The rise of trauma injuries breaks down into four categories from data pulled by the hospital: gunshot wounds, non-accidental trauma (abuse), ATV accidents and motor vehicle collisions.
In 2020, 136 children suffered from a gunshot wound - 47 more cases than the year before. The trauma unit also treated 126 cases of abuse, an increase of 45 cases from 2019.
ATV Accidents also rose by 30 cases from 125 in 2019 to 155 during the pandemic.
Dr. Williams is particularly concerned about the gunshot injuries coming in. She said it's not only an increase in cases but the severity of them.
"The injuries are more severe," she said. "It’s not just I accidently shot my foot but it’s I got shot in the back and now I’m paralyzed for the rest of my life. That’s been very scary. It’s been really hard on the emergency department. They’re not used to seeing bad injuries like that.”
Three and a half months into the pandemic, Le Bonheur's trauma unit hasn't slowed down. Dr. Williams said gunshot wounds and abuse continue to be a problem but she's hopefully that schools opening and people getting vaccinated will reverse or slow down a troubling trend.
"I think winter was long and hard," she said. "I'm kind of hopeful that spring will be better but that's when we normally see more trauma patients so if we take our normal variation on top of what we've had, an increase from the pandemic, we're going to have more."
That includes ATV and biking accidents.
Now, the hospital is going beyond treating the physical injuries or gunshot wounds. In February, the hospital's partnership with the University of Memphis' BRAIN CENTER started its work where all child shooting victims can receive mental health services to prevent further buildup of the trauma they experienced.
"[I'm] cautiously optimistic although we are all going through a hard time that we'll all be able to support them in a way that allows kids to be kids," she said.
Mental health resources are also offered to the parents.
