Families in Sonoma County could soon lose their only local option for overnight hospital care for kids. Providence Health is weighing whether to shut down the inpatient pediatric wing at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, a move that would send families to San Francisco or Oakland when a child needs more than an ER visit.
The 10-bed unit at Memorial admits just under two patients a day on average, according to hospital figures. Providence has told staff the numbers don’t pencil out. The company hasn’t made a final call, but meetings with nurses and managers in recent weeks point to closure as a real possibility.
If it happens, this would mark the latest pullback in local services. Providence already closed an urgent care center in southwest Santa Rosa, shut down three outpatient labs in Sonoma and Napa counties, and paid nearly $10 million to walk away from running the maternity ward at Petaluma Valley Hospital in 2023.
The pediatric wing treats hundreds of kids a year for everything from asthma attacks and pneumonia to broken bones and post-surgical recovery. During COVID, the unit even took in adult patients when space was tight. Staff say that while the wing may look under-used on paper, it has provided a critical safety net when the county’s other hospitals couldn’t take children. Kaiser Santa Rosa has pediatrics only for its members, and Sutter Santa Rosa doesn’t have a pediatric ward.
Providence points to rising costs, staffing shortages and new federal policy changes that will squeeze hospital budgets even tighter. Local officials are worried. The Board of Supervisors has been briefed, and county health leaders are asking whether Providence has informed regulators in Sacramento. Supervisor Rebecca Hermosillo, whose district includes Memorial, said she is pressing for answers.
For families, the stakes are simple: more travel, more stress and more cost if a child needs to be hospitalized. Last year, Memorial admitted more than 500 kids; so far this year, more than 300. Doctors estimate that if the wing closes, about 240 children a year would need to be transferred to Oakland or San Francisco.
Providence insists no decision has been made. But nurses say some colleagues are already leaving, unsure if the unit will survive.
