Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital, part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence, has set a March 27, 2026, deadline for shuttering its inpatient children’s unit, according to a statement shared with Becker’s.
The hospital said in October it would close the eight-bed unit and repurpose it for adult inpatient care, citing low patient volumes and financial challenges. Providence also said the unit averages fewer than two admitted patients per day, most of whom stay less than 48 hours.
In a Dec. 18 statement, the health system said a team of physicians and clinical leaders has been working on the operational details and timeline for the transition, and that the hospital will no longer admit pediatric patients to the inpatient unit as of March 27.
“As we communicated previously, this change is part of our ongoing efforts to thoughtfully align limited resources with the evolving health care needs of our community,” Providence said.
The health system will continue treating children at its emergency department and offer outpatient pediatric services through its Providence Medical Group pediatric team. Pediatric patients requiring inpatient care will be transferred to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco or Oakland, Calif., Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., or UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, Calif., the San Francisco Chronicle reported Dec. 18.
“All employees who are affected by this change have been offered positions within Providence,” the health system added. “We will share more information as the remaining operational details come together.”
The closure reflects a national trend of scaling back pediatric services. A study published Dec. 10 in Pediatrics found the number of hospitals categorized as “low-capability” in pediatric services more than doubled between 2003 and 2022.
Heather Iezza, MD, an outpatient pediatrician at Providence Medical Group, expressed concern about local implications of the closure. Pediatricians with the medical group estimate the change will result in hundreds of children needing to be transferred to hospitals outside Sonoma County each year. Additionally, members of the Sonoma County Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board — which includes local physicians — have scrutinized the plan.
“The biggest concern is access to care,” Dr. Iezza told the Chronicle. “If any of my patients need to be admitted to inpatient care, they’re going to have to travel by helicopter or ambulance if they’re not stable. The implications of that from a safety standpoint and from a family caregiver standpoint is a lot. When you’re at a place that’s close to home, that’s better than going to a faraway facility.”
“Providence remains fully committed to its health care mission in Sonoma County,” the health system said. “We are taking the necessary steps to build a sustainable future for Santa Rosa Memorial and Providence Medical Group that ensures we continue providing compassionate, expert care for our community for generations to come.”
Providence operates 51 hospitals and employs approximately 125,000 caregivers.
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