Children's Hospital Formation Leads to Rise in Pediatric ER Visits

It may not be full of doctors with red rubber balls on their noses, but Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital has found itself kid-friendly enough to find more and more parents turning to its emergency room for emergency pediatric care.

Pediatric emergency visits at increased by 9.3 percent from September 2010 to September 2011, compared with an increase in traditional emergency room visits of 3.4 percent in the same time period, according to hospital data obtained by Patch.

Hospital administrators have attributed the increase in pediatric ER visits to the April 2010 opening of the specialized children's emergency room and the June 2010 announcement of the .

"There's no better place than a specialized children's ER. Most parents are aware of the difference and that's why we're seeing an increase in visits," said Dr. Sergey Kunkov, chief of the pediatric emergency department. "More and more parents understand, bypass their local hospitals, and bring their children to the pediatric ER department [at Stony Brook]."

At the same time, Kunkov said, the children's hospital – which currently occupies one floor of the hospital and has about 100 beds – is quickly finding the need for more space.

A hospital spokesman said the ultimate goal is to build a new patient tower with two full floors dedicated to Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital – which won't come cheap. But the Stony Brook Foundation has been busy fundraising for the children's hospital, .

"Fundraising has been challenging but we’ve found the community responsive to the critical need of having a world class children’s hospital in Suffolk County," said Dexter A. Bailey, Jr., vice president for university advancement and executive director of the Stony Brook Foundation.

Bailey said just under $4 million has been raised so far through private donations and community fundraisers, but reaching the goal of expansion "will require significant philanthropic investment."

"I'm cautiously optimistic with everything going on in the economy, but I think we’re clearly meeting an unmet need in Suffolk County," he said.

What makes the pediatric emergency room different from a traditional emergency room is that everything is kid-sized – breathing tubes, hospital gowns, and more – and treatment begins in the triage room. Equipment that might be "scary looking" in the patients' eyes is hidden within cabinets until it is needed, Kunkov said, and nurses and paramedics are trained specifically to treat children.

"There are so many differences in how the place works and how it is different from anyplace else," Kunkov said. "...We see great potential in this place."

Emergency Room visits at Stony Brook University Medical Center