Brooksville, Fla.-based HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital has closed its four-bed inpatient pediatric unit, according to an Aug. 5 press release from the hospital.
The hospital cites the shift to outpatient pediatric treatment options in the advances in surgical care, medications, and remote monitoring as impacting the hospital's ability to support the inpatient pediatric service.
The hospital's eight-bed pediatric emergency department will continue to operate, and pediatric emergency patients needing inpatient care will transfer to an appropriate children's facility in the region.
HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital CEO Ken Wicker said that most pediatric patients seen at the hospital last year did not require inpatient care.
"For the children who do need a higher level of care, they will continue to be treated quickly in our pediatric emergency department, stabilized and transferred to receive the ongoing care they need," Mr. Wicker said.
The pediatric department cared for 11 percent of the hospital's 62,264 emergency patients last year.