Copyright Santa Rosa Press Democrat
The operator of Santa Rosa’s longest-serving hospital is closing its inpatient pediatric wing, leaving local families with fewer options in the region for cases where children require non-emergency overnight care. Providence informed impacted nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital of the decision in a meeting Wednesday morning, labor representatives confirmed. Hospital administrators also sent notice Wednesday confirming the closure to county health officials and the broader hospital community. “This decision was informed by a thorough discernment and consideration of options and was not made lightly,” Providence said in a statement signed by Scott Ciesielski, chief administrative officer at Providence Sonoma County. The move leaves Sonoma County and the wider North Bay without a designated inpatient pediatric unit outside of Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center, which is generally a members-only system. The Press Democrat first reported in September that Providence was poised to close the pediatric wing, with eight licensed beds, though the hospital giant stopped short of acknowledging its plans at the time. Providence says the unit is underutilized and that financial uncertainty in the health care industry has forced hospital officials to reevaluate how to provide services. Keeping the ward open “is not the best use of the limited resources we have to serve the community,” the hospital operator said in its written announcement. The space will be repurposed to increase capacity for sick adults who are at greater risk for hospitalization, Providence said. No firm closure date has been announced, but Providence is aiming to complete the transition in the first quarter of 2026, Ciesielski said in emailed responses to questions from The Press Democrat. The inpatient pediatrics ward handles non-life threatening cases where young patients must be admitted overnight, including jaundice in newborns, appendectomies, asthma, orthopedic issues such as broken bones, urinary tract infections and pneumonia. Hospital officials say an average of two patients are admitted daily, leaving many empty beds that can be better utilized to serve growing space demands for adult patients. But sources inside the unit said they often take in pediatric patients recovering from surgery but who don’t stay overnight, as well as patients transferred from other regional hospitals. They’ve also seen demand for services for mothers and newborns after a nearby maternity ward closed. “The nurses very strongly believe this is a service that is needed in the community,” Peter Brackner, president of the Staff Nurses Association, said Wednesday. “It’s quite a loss to the community and a burden on families.” Brackner, whose group represents 782 registered nurses at Memorial Hospital, including those in the pediatrics ward, said the closure would force hundreds of families to seek services elsewhere, a financial and emotional strain on already stressed families. Families from as far as Lake and Mendocino counties travel for services at Memorial, he said. Outside of Kaiser Permanente, the region’s other main hospital provider, Sutter Health, does not have an inpatient pediatric unit at its Santa Rosa hospital. That means children needing a higher level of care or hospitalization will have to seek care in San Francisco or Oakland. The closure comes as Providence has made investments in specialized care — including the construction of a health care hub for cardiology, imaging and women’s health funded by a $10 million donation — while contracting some of its primary care services. The company closed an urgent care center in southwest Santa Rosa, eliminated three outpatient laboratories in the North Bay, two in Sonoma and one in Napa counties, and closed the maternity ward at Petaluma Valley Hospital in 2023. Multiple sources in the pediatric unit at Memorial and others familiar with Providence’s plans had begun sounding the alarm about the proposed closure a month ago. Providence at the time said a decision had not yet been made but that the hospital was evaluating options in the face of financial pressures. In particular, the provider pointed to expected impacts of President Donald Trump’s recently passed tax, policy and spending bill and cuts to Medicaid that are anticipated to put additional strain on suburban and rural hospitals. The company, based in Washington state, controls more than 51 hospitals and more than 1,000 clinics across seven western states. It took over Memorial Hospital in a merger with St. Joseph Health about a decade ago and also operates three other hospitals in Sonoma County as well as Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. Officials, in a series of meetings with staff starting in August, indicated the unit wasn’t financially sustainable, nurses in the unit previously told the Press Democrat. While some 500 children are treated each month in the emergency department, only about 40 to 50 are admitted to the hospital. Memorial Hospital’s pediatrics wing treated 507 children last year and more than 300 as of mid-September, according to a nurse in the unit. Hospital officials have said most stay for less than 48 hours. “Redirecting the resources supporting this unit will help us meet the growing demand for complex adult care,” Providence said in its Wednesday announcement. Ciesielski said the closure will result in savings for the hospital — he didn’t provide a dollar figure — and funding will be reinvested into other patient services. Children will continue to be seen in the emergency department, Providence said, and patients who are discharged will be referred to Providence’s pediatrics’ team or other local clinics for follow up care. Young patients needing advanced care or hospitalization will be transferred to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, which has regularly taken in Memorial patients for the past several decades. The closure does not impact the hospital’s labor and delivery unit or neonatal intensive care unit. County health officials confirmed Wednesday that Providence had informed them of the impending closure. Providence must notify county and state health officials at least 90 days prior to closing a pediatrics ward and the notice must indicate the planned closure date, number of affected beds and information about comparable services available in the community. Brackner, the labor representative, said the labor group wasn’t consulted ahead of the closure but that the news didn’t come as a surprise. The Staff Nurses Association sent a letter to administrators early Wednesday morning asking for more details as rumors of the decision began floating around. Nurses in the unit were asked to attend a 10 a.m. meeting with hospital officials. Labor representatives weren’t invited. Brackner said an official with the hospital’s human resources office called him after receiving the letter and confirmed the closure. Three full-time nurses, three part-time nurses and seven floating nurses will be impacted. The hospital, in its announcement, said the closure also affected the equivalent of four-and-a-half physicians in the unit. Nurses will not be laid off and will be reassigned to other departments, Brackner said. Brackner said labor representatives plan to meet with impacted members to better understand where they would like to be reassigned and if there are options available that would allow them to continue working with young patients, such as in the emergency department, and they’ve requested a formal meeting with hospital officials. “We’ll do what we can to try to support our nurses,” he said. Ciesielski confirmed the hospital has enough open positions to absorb all the impacted employees. Ciesielski said Providence plans to bring together a team of physicians, hospital leaders and caregivers to help guide the transition from inpatient pediatrics to adult care. A team of outpatient pediatrics providers also will meet to identify how they can better serve young patients, he said. You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.
