COON RAPIDS, Minn. — A public hearing has been scheduled later this month regarding Allina Health's planned changes to ICU, surgical and pediatric services between its two Mercy Hospital campuses, according to a notice from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
Allina first announced the "repositioning" of services last month, including the relocation of ICU and surgical services from the Mercy Hospital Unity Campus in Fridley to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, with an increase in surgical capacity in Coon Rapids. In addition, the inpatient pediatric unit will close at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids.
Allina says there are two beds dedicated to pediatric inpatient hospital services and that represents less than 1% of the pediatric care delivered at Mercy Hospital.
"Several factors are driving the repositioning of services," Allina officials said in its February announcement. "Including low ICU census at Mercy Hospital – Unity Campus, decreasing volumes for pediatric inpatient care at Mercy Hospital (Coon Rapids) and Mercy Hospital – Unity Campus operating rooms that would soon need costly renovations."
In a rare move, some doctors are now publicly pushing back against the changes, including pediatrician Dr. Kara Larson who says the plan only creates more barriers for families trying to access health care.
"If parents know that their child needs to be hospitalized, they will have to go downtown," said Dr. Larson. "They might not even bring their child in; they might stay at home, hoping that their child gets better."
The doctors say the proposal will lead to longer wait times and force patients to travel farther, costing time and money. The move could also eliminate about 100 jobs, including pediatricians, nurses and other healthcare workers. In response, Allina says, "While there is a change in positions, we have open positions for nearly everyone and are working to fast track employment for people who are interested in staying with Allina Health."
"It really is not about the beds," said Dr. Larson. "It’s about being able to have kids from our community being taken care of in a hospital in our community."
In a new statement, an Allina Health spokesperson wrote, "Several factors are driving the repositioning of services across both campuses. First and foremost, we are working to create additional access to care in the Northwest region by ensuring care is being delivered in the right place. The low volume of ICU patients and the extensive and costly renovations needed to the operating rooms at our Unity campus required us to think holistically about how we can sustainably deliver care in the Northwest Metro, inclusive of the two hospital campuses, clinics and ambulatory surgery centers. By moving ICU and surgical care to the Mercy campus, we are creating the opportunity to increase access to certain services at our Unity campus that are a critically important part of the solution to the state’s persistent patient boarding issue.
We have experienced a declining volume of inpatient pediatric patients in our two dedicated pediatric beds and have been working closely with physician and operational leaders at Mercy Hospital to refine the model for pediatric care. The new pediatric care model will continue to include daytime coverage by pediatric hospitalists in the newborn nursery and Emergency Department. We are dedicated to providing the same excellent overnight pediatric coverage model that is present at our other metro hospitals to ensure seamless care delivery. NICU and clinic-based pediatric newborn rounding will continue with no changes to the model that exists today. We will continue to work with our communities’ pediatric-focused hospitals where patients can receive the inpatient hospital sub-specialty care that is not available at Mercy Hospital.
We are dedicated to working with staff impacted by these changes, and we hope the majority of them will remain Allina Health employees."
MDH's Health Regulation Division will hold a virtual public hearing on Tuesday, Mar. 26 "to provide a forum for the community to discuss the change in services and available alternatives for Mercy Hospital patients at both campuses," according to the news release.
A state law passed in 2021 requires a public notice and public hearing before closures, relocation or cessation of hospital services; however, MDH only has the authority to to hold informational meetings and cannot prevent or delay any proposed hospital service changes.
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