Cook County Health and Hospital System, a two-hospital safety-net system in Chicago, is considering shutting down its inpatient pediatric unit at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
The health system is also thinking about whether to consolidate its residency training program in pediatrics into another program and instead focus its primary pediatric care at outpatient care sites, a June 4 memo from Cook County Health and Hospital System read, according to the report.
It is not yet known how much money the changes would save the health system or how many jobs would be affected, if any. Caryn Stancik, Cook County Health spokeswoman, said in an email no decision has been made yet.
"CCHHS is thriving in the new competitive environment, but much like private business, we need to position the organization for the future. For us, this involves the assessment of specific clinical operations," said Ms. Stancik. "Just as private industry does not make decisions overnight, CCHHS will not make decisions overnight."
According to Crain's, Stroger's pediatric unit has struggled with low volume. In 2013, the latest year for which data is available, the hospital reported 40 staffed pediatric beds at its busiest time, and they were only 26 percent occupied. Stroger has experienced low occupancy for the past decade, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Ms. Stancik included in her email the health system is working on identifying what services it would offer at a new, $100 million outpatient medical office building, which will be located at the Near West Side campus, anchored by Stroger, according to the report.