Community to close inpatient pediatric unit in Kokomo

Decline in child hospitalization cited as cause; outpatient pediatrics still in place

Community Howard Regional Health intends to close its inpatient pediatric unit on July 29, but that doesn’t mean that pediatric care is leaving the community. The move reflects a shift in the way that parents utilize the hospital’s services.

The change will not impact Community’s outpatient pediatric services, provided at the North Central Indiana Pediatric Center, or any emergency pediatric services. Parents in needs of pediatric care should continue to visit the pediatric center or the emergency room as needed in the past.

Following is the official statement from Community Howard Regional Health:

As a nonprofit healthcare system, Community Health Network has a responsibility to regularly evaluate whether the services provided in local communities are aligned in a way to ensure the long-term sustainability of high-quality care. With robust outpatient care services available and a continued decrease in the demand for inpatient care of pediatric patients, Community Howard Regional Health will be taking the difficult step to close its inpatient pediatric unit, effective July 29, 2022.

The number of children hospitalized at Community Howard has continued to decrease, a testament to the region’s exceptional outpatient pediatric providers.  Currently, the average daily census is approximately 1 child per day. Because of the low demand and the highly specialized nature of inpatient pediatric care, the current model at Community Howard is not sustainable. 

Community will continue to care for pediatric patients through its outpatient pediatric practice, North Central Indiana Pediatric Center, as well as its family medicine primary care offices. A pediatric provider with the outpatient practice is on call 24/7 to address parents’ needs and the hospital’s team of experienced Emergency Room providers, nurses and techs will continue to care for pediatric patients seeking emergency care. In cases where children need to be transferred for inpatient care, our case management team will work with patients and families to try to help with resources they need.

The hospital will continue to operate its maternity unit and Level II NICU. Newborns less than 30 days in need of hospitalization will be admitted to the NICU, as is standard protocol. A pediatrician will continue to provide care in the hospital for newborns and babies in the NICU.

Community’s human resources team is working closely with impacted employees and is dedicated to making every effort to match as many employees as possible to other openings within the hospital and Community’s other sites of care.