Potential Closure of Pediatric Unit at Santa Rosa Memorial โขHospital Raises Concerns
Santa Rosaโข Memorial Hospital,โ part of teh Providence health system, is consideringโ closingโ its inpatient pediatric unit, sparking concern among local physicians and raising โquestions about access to pediatric careโข in sonoma County.โฃ The hospital is the only one in the county, alongside Sutter santa Rosa regional Hospital, offering inpatient pediatric services; hospitals in โฃHealdsburg, Petaluma, and Sonoma do not.
Last year, the pediatric wing at Memorialโค Hospital โคtreated 507 children, with over 300 patients seen so far this year. While the unit’s eight licensed beds aren’t consistently full, it โfrequently accommodates children recovering from surgery and receives pediatric transfersโ fromโ hospitals throughout Northern California. Recently,the unitโฃ has also experienced an increaseโ inโ patients following the closure of the maternity ward atโ Petaluma Valley โคHospital,taking in overflow mothers and newborns.
Dr. Milana PeBenito, โคa local familyโค medicine physician, has alerted the sonoma County โBoard of Supervisors to the โpotential closure.โข She notes a broader trend of hospitals โreducing inpatient pediatric services, attributing โคitโฃ to both declining hospitalizationโค rates due to preventative healthโฃ measures like flu and RSV vaccinations, and low reimbursement rates for pediatric care.โข
According to Dr.โข PeBenito, Memorialโ Hospital currently admits over 400 children โขannually from Sonoma Countyโ and surrounding areas, with 85% of those patients covered by federal Medicaid.Theโ closure of the unit could โnecessitateโ transferring approximately 240 children each year to inpatient pediatric hospitals in Oaklandโ or Sanโฃ Francisco.
Financial pressures on Providence,โค stemming from aโ high percentage of โฃuninsured โor Medi-Cal patients,โข are contributing โto the situation. Potential Medicaid cuts could further destabilize theโ health system and other local providers. โฃProvidence representatives acknowledge โthe financial challenges, stating theโ organization “can’t do everything” and may need to rely on other organizations to deliver โคcertainโ services.
providence reports the pediatric wing currentlyโ averages two patientsโ daily,with mostโ stays lasting โless than 48 hours. For over 20โ years, theโข majority of pediatric patients arriving at the hospital’s emergencyโ department haveโฃ been assessed, stabilized, โฃandโ then transferred to UCSF Benioff Children‘s Hospital, a partner institution.
As ofโ Thursday, Providence stated that no final decision regarding the closure of the pediatric unit has been โmade.
