The public hospital that wanted to cut pediatrics? People got mad. Now, that plan has changed.
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
By Karen Yi
University Hospital’s plan to outsource its inpatient services for children to another Newark hospital is off the table for now, a spokesman confirmed Monday.
The proposal to transfer inpatient pediatric services to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center three miles away had angered many doctors and nurses who said such a move would be a “death blow” for the city’s children.
University Hospital is the only Level 1 trauma center in North Jersey and houses New Jersey Medical School’s primary teaching hospital.
“While our proposal was based on the clinical needs and volume of patients we see in the pediatric inpatient program, based on the feedback we have received and our ongoing assessment, we have decided to keep the unit operating at its current level,” a hospital spokesman said in a statement.
The hospital had submitted an application to the Department of Health to reduce its pediatric services but has since withdrawn it. Hospital CEO Jon Kastanis previously said that the move was necessary because of the low volume of child patients.
Kastanis said the intensive care unit for pediatrics was often closed and only three to four children required inpatient services a day.