PeaceHealth St. John Stops Admitting Children Under 12 Overnight

Longview, Wash.-based PeaceHealth St. John Hospital will no longer admit children who are under the age of 12 or under 100 pounds for overnight care, due to extremely low pediatric inpatient volumes, according to a report from The Daily News.

Such patients who need overnight care will be transferred to pediatric hospitals in neighboring Portland, Ore., or Vancouver, Wash.

Officials at PeaceHealth St. John say the decision was not made for financial reasons, and pediatric patients sick enough to be hospitalized should have access to higher quality specialty care more readily available at specialty facilities.

PeaceHealth St. John will expand pediatric outpatient services in the coming months, hiring three pediatricians to start in October, according to the report.

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