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MILWAUKEE (8/12/2008) -  Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and ProHealth Care announced today they are in exclusive discussions to create a Children's Hospital inside Waukesha Memorial Hospital. This type of arrangement is referred to as a "hospital within a hospital" model.
The new Children's Hospital would include Waukesha Memorial Hospital's existing 22-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and eight-bed inpatient pediatric unit, which would be staffed and operated by Children's Hospital.
The goal of the discussion is to provide Children's Hospital care close to home for children in the Waukesha County area. ProHealth Care is Waukesha County's premier tertiary care provider and Children's Hospital is one of the top pediatric hospitals in the nation. Such an arrangement would bring increased access to pediatric care without duplicating services.
"Two great organizations are coming together for the benefit of the children in our community," said Jon Vice, president and CEO of Children's Hospital and Health System. "We are pleased to have been invited to discuss this plan with ProHealth Care. Such an agreement aligns perfectly with our mission to provide the best care for kids."
The agreement would build on the strong relationship between the two organizations. Children's Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin have partnered with Waukesha Memorial for nearly 12 years to provide services at the only level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Waukesha County. The unit at Waukesha Memorial is staffed by Children's Hospital and Medical College neonatologists.
"We look forward to growing our existing relationship with Children's Hospital to include both specialized NICU care and inpatient pediatric specialty care," said Ed Olson, CEO of Waukesha Memorial Hospital. "A Children's Hospital within Waukesha Memorial Hospital would bring the region's most highly rated specialized pediatric care closer to home for children throughout the Waukesha County area."
Children's Hospital currently operates pediatric urgent care centers at ProHealth Care Medical Centers in Brookfield and Mukwonago.
Children's Hospital already has successfully used the "hospital within a hospital" model in two other communities. The 31-bed Children's Hospital of Wisconsin-Kenosha opened in 1999 at Kenosha Medical Center. In 2001, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley opened a 20-bed Pediatric Unit and a 22-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah.
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