Milford Regional Announces Change in Pediatric Services
Milford Regional Medical Center has filed notification to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that it will no longer provide inpatient pediatric services. However, pediatric patients will continue to receive excellent care from pediatric physicians who are on the medical staffs of both Milford Regional and Boston Children's Hospital alongside our emergency medicine physicians in a designated pediatric section of the emergency department.
After much careful thought and deliberation, the decision to close inpatient pediatric services was based upon low patient admissions. Pediatric admissions accounted for approximately 1 percent of Milford Regional's total patient admissions in FY 2016. While Milford Regional has 10 licensed patient beds, most are generally not in service, and pediatric admissions have been declining for years. Based upon these low numbers, Milford Regional determined that it wasn't feasible to continue operating an inpatient pediatric unit.
However, parents can count on Milford Regional's collaborative arrangements with Boston Children's that ensures a continuation of the high quality care they have come to expect for their children at the Medical Center. Today, the majority of pediatric care offered at community hospitals is treated within a 24-hour period. Adapting to these changes in pediatric medicine, most of our pediatric patients will be cared for in a pediatric section of the newly constructed emergency department. The spacious rooms that are only one year old comfortably accommodate the child with his/her parents and are equipped with the most up-to-date medical systems. And as has always been the case, when specialized pediatric care is needed, transfers to tertiary care facilities in Boston or Worcester will continue to take place seamlessly.
As part of the notification to DPH, a public hearing will be held on the discontinuation of services plan.
"Through our collaborative arrangement with Boston Children's and other tertiary care facilities in our region, Milford Regional remains committed to providing the very best care to our pediatric patients," says Edward J. Kelly, president and CEO of Milford Regional. "We are confident that the transition of care to the pediatric area of our new emergency department will allow us to continue to provide the highest quality care to our pediatric patients."
