Children’s Hospital 5th floor to be used as temporary overflow space for adult patients

Deborah Berini, president of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, sent the following email Monday to Hershey Medical Center managers and clinical chairs:

Progress continues on the expansion of the Children’s Hospital. The new floors scheduled to open in the fall of 2020 will consist of an expanded NICU, Labor and Delivery and additional pediatric beds. This is an exciting time for our Children’s Hospital and the entire Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. It is also a time of great demand for both our pediatric and adult services, requiring all of us to engage in flexible and innovative thinking for the benefit of our patients and the institution as a whole.

Using the operating plan and patient satisfaction feedback as their guide, the leadership of the Children’s Hospital and Hershey Medical Center have worked together to understand the demands for our space and determine the best path forward for our patients. We know pediatric and adult care units are all feeling the pressure. The relocation of the pediatric unit currently located on the main hospital’s 7^th floor, along with proposed renovations on the 3^rd floor, will ultimately increase much-needed adult bed space. However, renovations to that space will create additional pressures of fluctuating bed capacity in the adult hospital as some beds become available while other units are closed and refurbished.

During this renovation phase, Hershey Medical Center will utilize the Children’s Hospital’s 5^th floor, 14-bed unit as temporary overflow space for adult patients. Temporarily dedicating these beds as overflow space is the best solution to meet the complex needs of our organization. It gives admissions for adults and children room to grow in trajectories informed by our market data and allows us to realize upgrades to the hospital for all of our patients.

It is important to note that the utilization of the new 5^th floor of the Children’s Hospital for adult patients is not permanent. In anticipation of opening the 5^th floor beds for children in the future, we have already purchased the equipment and room amenities to match the rest of the Children’s Hospital.

Thank you in advance for your continued cooperation and flexibility as we grow to meet the needs of our patients, faculty and staff.

Deborah Berini
President, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

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