“The pediatricians within Grand River Medical Group have made the difficult decision to no longer provide inpatient pediatric services to UnityPoint Health – Dubuque,” the hospital said in a statement. “This was a Grand River decision and while we are disappointed, we understand their reasoning.”
The hospital said it will continue to care for pediatric patients with emergent needs in its emergency department and will work with other hospitals in the region to ensure patients requiring inpatient care can be safely transferred.
The change will not affect neonatal care, as Finley Hospital’s neonatal nurse practitioners will continue caring for newborns. Pediatric surgical admissions will also remain unchanged, as patients are admitted and managed by their surgeons, according to the hospital.
“One very important statistic to know is the majority of pediatric patients seen in ERs are not admitted but are treated and released home,” Finley Hospital said in its statement, adding that it admitted 30 pediatric patients in 2024.
Finley Hospital is a 158-bed hospital and part of West Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health, which operates a network of 36 hospitals and more than 400 clinics across the Midwest.
