Independent, freestanding children’s hospitals face tougher markets today compared to 10 years ago when they could rely on the cushion of hefty philanthropic donations, larger insurance payouts and increased federal funding through Medicaid and Medicare.
Here are four things to know about how U.S. children’s hospitals are faring amidst increasing market and economic pressures.
1. According to Mark Wietecha, CEO of the Lenexa, Kan.-based Children’s Hospital Association, approximately 35 freestanding children’s hospitals exist in the U.S., down from the 50 children’s hospitals that existed roughly 50 years ago.
2. Larger healthcare systems with their own pediatric facilities constitute the largest threat to freestanding children’s facilities because they have more capital and clinical resources at their disposal.
3. To combat growing pressures, children’s hospitals seek to make themselves “such…attractive partner[s], in terms of extraordinary care and value, that it doesn’t [make sense for larger systems] to build…competitive pediatric program[s],” said Jeff Sperring, MD, CEO of Seattle Children’s Hospital.
4. Notable children’s facilities employing partnerships with larger systems include: the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, Fla.-based St. Joseph’s Children’s Hosptial; UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland (Calif.); and the Milwaukee-based Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Marshfield, Wis.-based Ministry St. Joseph’s Hospital.
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