In a move indicative of shifting healthcare demands, Jupiter Medical Center (JMC) has announced that it will shutter its inpatient pediatric unit to make way for an expanded maternity care offering. The Palm Beach Post reports that the nonprofit hospital will convert the 12 beds currently dedicated to pediatric care to postpartum use, beginning April 1, amidst a surge in the number of women giving birth at the facility.
Although the hospital has served as the only northern Palm Beach County provider with inpatient pediatric beds, it has seen a meager daily usage of roughly 15%. In contrast, there is a projected rise in births at JMC, with nearly 3,000 babies expected to be delivered this year, a 70% uptick since 2020, as stated by a spokesperson of Jupiter Medical Center in an interview acquired by WPBF. The expansion plan includes 12 new postpartum beds and two obstetrics operating rooms to cater to this growing demand.
Families seeking emergency care for children won’t be left in the lurch, as JMC will keep its Mastroianni Family Pediatric Emergency Department running, which handles about 8,500 pediatric cases annually. On the neonatal front, the hospital will continue to operate its Level II De George Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for newborns requiring specialized care. However, children in need of inpatient treatment will face a transfer to facilities further afield, the closest being the Palm Beach Children’s Hospital at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, a good 15 miles away, which offers 93 pediatric beds…