Photo courtesy of Allina Health

Doctors at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids are asking Allina Health to reverse plans to eliminate the North Metro-area hospital’s pediatric services.

The elimination of these services was announced suddenly on Feb. 13, according to a news release issued this week issued by Doctors Council SEIU, a national affiliate of SEIU. Mercy Hospital physicians joined the union in January. The anticipated effective date for this elimination is June 12.

In its release, Doctors Council SEIU stated Mercy Pediatric Hospitalists and their allies demand the reversal of Allina Health’s decision. The union also launched a petition seeking community support.

In a letter to unionized physicians, Allina said the closure was because of low patient volume and because inpatient pediatrics is not a core service of Allina Health, according to the union.

Dr. Kelsey Bergstrom Ankeny argues the services offered are essential to meeting the needs of children in the Twin Cities’ North Metro.

“We are the only inpatient pediatric service in the entire North Metro area. There’s nobody else. We are it,” she said in an interview with TCB.

Bergstrom Ankeny is one of six pediatric doctors whose jobs will be eliminated under the recent changes announced by Allina.

The health system’s Feb. 13 news release said the elimination of pediatrics at Mercy is part of a wider “repositioning of services.” The current in-patient pediatric units will turn into adult beds, according to Allina’s release, which also noted the hospital will work with children’s hospitals in the community to ensure pediatric care is available.

Allina spokesperson Jennifer Steingas confirmed in a Wednesday evening email to TCB there will be six jobs impacted by this change. Allina often works with and will continue to work with Children’s Minnesota and M Health Fairview, Steingas said.

These children’s hospitals and pediatric services are centered in the Twin Cities, about 10 miles south of the Coon Rapids hospital, Bergstrom Ankeny said. Many Mercy patients come from around the region as well, she noted.

It’s already stressful to be a parent with a sick child, Bergstrom Ankeny said. “Adding an extra 40 minutes or more to their drive to find the nearest hospital where a child can even be admitted. That’s a lot.”

In addition to admitting children needing direct and immediate care to the hospital, Mercy pediatricians conduct consultations in the emergency room, see newborns in the hospital’s nursery, and are on the “code blue” team for the children’s neonatal intensive care unit. The team also helps the hospital’s surgical team in pediatric cases.

Bergstrom Ankeny worries about what this change will mean for already overloaded hospital systems. “Especially when we have seasonal surges of various illnesses and things, beds statewide can be very tight for pediatrics,” she said. “We’re all concerned about what’s going to happen with the next wave of illnesses. The children’s hospitals are often already at capacity.”

In addition to low patient volume, Allina Health also cited financial reasons for the closure, according to the SEIU release. Hospitals across the state have reported major losses over the last few years. In August, Allina Health reported an operating loss of nearly $123 million for its second quarter. By late summer, it had cut more than 500 jobs.

Allina reported an overall loss of $317.8 million by year-end, the Star Tribune reported in January. However, in its last quarter, the hospital reported a small profit.

The state of hospital financials is a complex one, as reported in-depth in TCB senior editor Liz Fedor’s recent feature in the February/March issue.