Expanding pediatric services to include adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Pediatric Care Adaptation
• Quality Improvement in Hospitals

Background:

• Reduced pediatric hospital admissions during COVID-19 led to underutilized inpatient pediatric units.
• Pediatric units present an opportunity for adaptation to accommodate adult patient populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the process of expanding pediatric services to adult patients.
• To analyze the characteristics of adult patients managed by pediatric healthcare teams.
• To assess the safety and effectiveness of this service adaptation.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project utilizing a plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle.
• Inclusion of adult patients aged 19–30 years in the pediatric unit.
• Monitoring of process, outcome, and balancing measures for project evaluation.

Main Results:

• Eighty-eight adult patients were admitted to the pediatric unit.
• No rapid response events occurred during the intervention period.
• No statistically significant difference in adverse safety events pre- and post-intervention (p = 0.194).

Conclusions:

• This initiative provides a scalable model for pediatric medical-surgical units and Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) to manage adult patients.
• Pediatric staff can safely provide care to adults by maintaining a familiar team structure and environment.
• The findings support the adaptability of pediatric units for adult care during public health crises or for managing adults with chronic childhood conditions.