Shortage of pediatric beds revives debate of need for new hospital

Stacy J. Willis

Friday, Feb. 1, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

Children are being treated in UMC's hallways on gurneys, owing to a shortage of pediatric beds countywide, hospital officials said Thursday.

The situation has reached "crisis" levels just as respiratory virus season begins -- proving, says Dr. Larry Satkowiak, director of University Medical Center's pediatric emergency room, that the county needs to build a new children's hospital.

But administrators at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, which has the only other pediatric intensive care unit in the county, say the situation doesn't warrant building a new hospital.

"Both (UMC and Sunrise's) emergency rooms are on divert status," Satkowiak said. "Children who have been admitted to the hospital are taking up ER beds, and ER patients are waiting as much as three hours and are being seen on gurneys. And we expect this to get worse as the respiratory virus season continues for the next couple of months. ...

"The next child may be flown to Los Angeles, Phoenix or Tucson for care. I don't know what else we can do."

But Ann Lynch, spokesman for Sunrise, said that although the beds have periodically been full in the last few weeks, no child is being turned away -- space is being made in other parts of the hospital.

"There is always room to treat them. It may not be in a pediatric intensive care room, but they will of course get the treatment they need," Lynch said. "We are not going to put some kid on an airplane and send them away."

The overflow plays a predictable part in an ongoing county debate over whether to build a new children's hospital.

In 2000 UMC administrators and Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny began pushing for a new, county-operated children's hospital on the UMC campus.

The issue became politicized because Kenny pursued the measure without the knowledge of the Commission, which in turn delayed a vote on the $80 million bond measure until further feasibility studies could be done. Three such studies have shown that population growth in the area does warrant additional pediatric medical services.

But in June, voters narrowly defeated a measure that would have given the go-ahead to taxpayer financing of a 152-bed children's hospital at UMC.

On Jan. 8 a Clark County task force report -- the third study -- recommended construction of a children's hospital to meet rising health care needs.

"When we asked for the children's hospital last year, we warned people that we would be coming to this point, where we wouldn't have enough beds," Satkowiak said.

"We said we would not be able to handle all of the needs -- except we thought it would be 2004 or 2005. Well we're at this point now, today," Satkowiak said. "I don't know what else we can do."

Lynch said the community has many health care needs as it grows, and that a children's hospital should not be the priority.

"First we need a children's psychiatric facility, and the respite care for children, and then dental care for children," Lynch said.