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The University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas, is shutting down its pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) services.

The major hospital in Kansas City confirmed to KSHB 41 News on Friday that PICU services will be ending, though a date is not confirmed yet.

Pediatric services that are not considered “intensive care” are not affected.

According to a spokesperson with the hospital, “chronically low census” in the PICU led The University of Kansas Health System to make the decision.

The health system only has six PICU beds out of the 1,621 beds in the entire hospital. Out of the 542,429 patients who used services at the health system last year, only 150 patients were in the PICU.

“That is well below one quarter of one half a percent,” a spokesperson wrote. “The majority of the time, the PICU is used for overflow from the NICU or neonatal patient care. The health system needs space to meet higher demands for care,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Pediatric patients needing services will still receive emergency, hospital and triage care at The University of Kansas Health System. If more intensive care is needed, the hospital will work with other KC metro health systems to provide that care.

“We will still offer pediatric inpatient services for peds who need hospitalization, but not pediatric intensive care,” a spokesperson wrote. “We also have a large outpatient footprint, as most pediatric issues are treated in outpatient settings.”

Staff currently working in the PICU will continue working with The University of Kansas Health System in either the pediatric or infant units.

“It is common for adult academic teaching hospitals to not provide ongoing pediatric intensive care services when there is a children’s hospital in the same city,” a spokesperson wrote. “This is not an unusual business model. In our case, there’s a children’s hospital less than 3 miles away.”

A date for the PICU closure is not confirmed yet, though a spokesperson said multiple dates are being looked at that coincide with the health system’s fiscal year budget.

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