Regionalization of Pediatric Care

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in overcapacity community hospitals around Ontario.¹ However, pediatric hospitals have experienced a reduced number of visits.² To address the challenge of overcapacity, 3 proposed approaches are identified: resource redeployment to adult centres and long-term care facilities, redirecting pediatric patients from community hospitals to pediatric hospitals, and reducing the number of non-urgent surgeries in pediatric hospitals in order to admit more non-COVID adults.³ The ethical considerations of each approach were evaluated according to the values of accessibility, equitable access to care, and solidarity, in order to make an informed recommendation for how to proceed. It was concluded that the regionalization of pediatric care would be a suitable approach: redirection of all pediatric patients in an Ontario region to the nearest pediatric hospital. This commentary reflects the values and innovative thinking of a group of undergraduate students from McMaster University.