title: Family suite: an innovative method to provide inexpensive postpartum care.
abstract: The postpartum hospital stay has been decreasing in the United States in recent decades. Early discharge to achieve cost savings has been criticized by many inside and outside the health care community as sometimes being detrimental to the mother and infant. This article describes the efforts of the administration, nursing staff, and medical staff of a large public urban hospital to develop an alternative to the forced early discharge of mothers and infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, USA.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Weathers
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007902:Length of Stay; D010351:Patient Discharge; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012654:Self-Care Units / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration