Tufts Children’s Hospitals to close, convert beds into adult ICU beds in July

Tufts Children’s Hospital will make a major pivot this July, closing down its renowned children’s services to convert its 41 pediatric inpatient beds to adult ICU and medical/surgical beds.

Tufts will refer children to its competitor Boston Children’s Hospital.

“Our Medical Center has never been stronger, but now patient needs are changing,” said Dr. Michael Tarnoff, president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center. “As we look toward the future, we must make this difficult but crucial decision. I am confident that through this collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, we will best serve the long-term health needs and well-being of our patients, our families, our employees, our trainees and the communities Wellforce serves.”

Wellforce, the parent organization of Tufts Medical Center, Lowell General Hospital, MelroseWakefield Healthcare and other health networks, approached the hospital about the collaboration, set to become effective on July 1, pending regulatory approval.

The groups cite the reason for the change as one keeping up with the demands of today’s health care system. Tufts Medical Center, which serves adults in its 415-bed Chinatown facility, has had to turn away “hundreds of patients each month,” Wellforce said in a release. Many of these adults need highly specialized care.

Tarnoff told reporters Thursday the changing trends pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These demands on Tufts Medical Center were here even pre-pandemic, they’ve just been intensified,” he said. “As high-quality of care as (Tufts Children’s) provides and as big as its heart is, (it’s) been a long-standing question, and the timing of this inside the pandemic may seem unusual, but this is a conversation we’ve had for a while.”

Meanwhile, fewer children are projected to require hospitalization, Wellforce added, while those that will need care will need more specialized care themselves. Wellforce said that pediatric patients in need of “acute or specialty care” will be sent to the Harvard-affiliated Boston Children’s Hospital.

The 41-bed closure will translate to up to 2,000 discharges per year that will be transitioned to Boston Children’s Hospital, and to an additional 20% expansion in adult beds for Tufts Medical Center. The announcement comes six months early to allow the “several hundred” affected employees to transition to new roles.

Tufts Medical Center will continue to operate its neonatal intensive care unit, as well as pediatric primary care services, including the Pediatric and Adolescent Asian Clinic as a resource for the local Chinatown community. The Center for Children with Special Needs will stay operational, as will New England Pediatric Care, a long-term care facility for children.

Tufts Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital are also in talks to coordinate delivery of “pediatric ambulatory specialty services, including satellite physician services,” Wellforce said, for its 70,000 pediatric patients in the area.