UCI Medical Center plans to eliminate pediatric beds

UCI Medical Center plans to eliminate its 25 pediatric beds early next year and transfer inpatient services to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, a proposal criticized by some politicians and protested by hospital nurses at a noon rally Wednesday outside the facility.

The UC Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the plan Wednesday at a meeting in San Francisco. If approved, the hospital’s pediatric beds will be converted to adult beds to help handle high demand for those services. At the same time, the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit will be absorbed into its regular intensive care services.

A decision to eliminate pediatric beds would mark the second time in less than a year that an Orange County hospital shifted its inpatient care for children to Children’s Hospital. In April, Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach closed its nine pediatric beds.

The shift of care concerns Yolanda Jimenez, unit coordinator for UCI’s pediatric intensive care unit.

“What’s going to happen during flu season? It’s already full over there,” said Jimenez, who joined in a small protest outside the hospital Wednesday. “It’s just going to really impede children’s healthcare.”

But UCI officials say the move is part of a long-term plan that will not affect access or quality of care.

Children’s Hospital has added 30 patient beds since October 2007 and will add six more by March. In addition, UCI plans to add 15 neonatal intensive-care beds.

Even though UCI had 25 dedicated licensed beds for children, on most days, the beds were less than half full, said UCI Medical Center spokesman John Murray.

“The areas of the most critical need -- more adult general beds and neonatal ICU beds -- will see an increase,” Murray said, adding that between the two hospitals, there will be no net loss of pediatric beds.

In addition, he said UCI Medical Center, a main trauma center in the county, will retain some specially trained pediatric nurses as it continues to offer pediatric trauma services and burn care.

In an earlier joint statement, UCI Medical Center and Children’s Hospital officials said: “Both organizations and their highly trained experts are dedicated to providing continuous, safe and compassionate care to all pediatric patients. . . . There is more than adequate capacity to meet the pediatric needs of Orange County and surrounding communities.”

But state nurses union officials disagree that care will be unaffected.

“The idea of just closing down seems totally irresponsible,” said Vicky Bermudez, a spokeswoman for the California Nurses Assn.

“We’re trying to figure out exactly how they’re planning on maintaining services in Orange County with the loss of these beds,” she said.

Carrying signs that said “OC kids first, not profits” and “UCI: Don’t abandon pediatric care,” about 40 people, including some nurses in scrubs, gathered outside the hospital Wednesday afternoon to encourage UCI officials to reconsider the plan.

Westminster resident Robin Wilhite, whose 16-year-old son has been in a coma for 24 days after being hit by a car, wore a shirt that said “PICU nurses rock.” She called the nurses in the pediatric intensive care unit “a special breed.”

“They’ve taken care of us here and we’re worried there is no room for us” at Children’s Hospital, Wilhite said.

At Wednesday’s protest outside the hospital, Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) encouraged the regents to take more time in reaching a decision on the proposal.

“Let’s slow down ... and let’s see what our short-term and long-term needs are for our children,” Solorio said. “I want to make sure our kids aren’t left without a hospital bed when they most need it.”

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