title: Communities with and without children's hospitals: Where do the sickest children receive care?
abstract: The author's purpose in this study was to examine whether children's hospitals treat more resource-intense children within their communities than do general acute-care hospitals in the same communities, and then to examine which general acute-care hospitals in communities without children's hospitals fill the role of caring for very sick children. In large communities without children's hospitals, at least one general hospital is likely to treat resource-intense children. Healthcare managers in community hospitals need to be prepared to meet the healthcare needs of resource-intense children, which includes having the appropriate specialized staff and technology to care for the sickest children.
authors.affiliation: Health Policy and Administration Department at Penn State University, University Park, USA.
authors.forename: Jami L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: DelliFraine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016638:Critical Illness; D019992:Databases as Topic; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D006801:Humans; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014481:United States