DUBUQUE, Iowa (KWWL) -- Grand River Medical Group will no longer offer inpatient pediatric services to UnityPoint Health - Dubuque.
Grand River Medical Group and UnityPoint Health Finley Hospital issued a joint statement on Wednesday.
"The pediatricians within Grand River Medical Group have made the difficult decision to no longer provide inpatient pediatric services to UnityPoint Health – Dubuque.
Finley Hospital’s Emergency Department will continue to care for the emergent needs of pediatric patients and will follow gold standard protocols by stabilizing the patient. If hospitalization is needed, Finley will partner with other regional health care facilities for a seamless transfer. One very important statistic to know is the majority of pediatric patients seen in ER’s are not admitted but are treated and released home. This is true at Finley who in 2024, admitted only 30 pediatric inpatients.
Finley Hospital is grateful to the Grand River Medical Group pediatricians for its years of service but is supportive of their decision. Finley remains committed and dedicated to caring for pediatric patients in our ER and through our UnityPoint Health nearby hospitals. Patients who see Grand River Medical Group on an outpatient basis at their Pediatric of Family Medicine Clinic will not be impacted by this change."
Finley Hospital reported only admitting 30 pediatric inpatients in 2024, saying most are able to be treated and sent home instead of staying at the hospital.
One of those 30 patients in 2024 was a 6-month-old in Dubuque, battling an illness that required a hospital stay.
The parent, who is remaining anonymous, told KWWL, "Once they had seen that his oxygen was going below the 90 percent, and I think it was below 92 percent, they wanted to admit him up to the ICU."
Her child was in the Finley Pediatric Care ICU for two days. The emergency side will still take kids in emergency situations to get them stabilized, but if an overnight stay is necessary, they would be transferred to a different hospital.
Now, she is worried that if her son were to need a hospital stay again, a transfer to a different hospital could be dangerous.
The parent explained, "Anything could happen. Say they were sent to Iowa City, that is a long drive. Anything can happen in that drive time that could be detrimental to that child, and that's very concerning as a parent."
Patients who see Grand River Medical Group on an outpatient basis at a clinic for pediatrics or family medicine will not be impacted by the change. Finley will also partner with other regional healthcare facilities for a seamless transfer if a hospital stay is needed.