PEDIATRICS Vol. 12 No. 3 September 1953, pp. 7-12
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HOSPITAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN

THE practice of pediatrics, in its broadest aspects, parallels and is influenced by developments in the general field of medicine. At the same time, it possesses special characteristics largely dictated by the nature of the age group which it serves. Hospital care for children is influenced in the same way both by developments in the general field of hospital care and by the special needs of the pediatric age group.

Immediately preceding the collection of data for the pediatric study, the entire hospital field was surveyed by the Commission on Hospital Care. The results were published by the Commonwealth Fund in Hospital Services in the United Stales. These data, plus those derived from the American Academy of Pediatric's study of child health services, provide a rich background of information as to the amount and distribution of hospital facilities for children. In the latter study, attention was also given to quality of care.

Areas of Need

Amount and Distribution of Hospital Facilities for Children

Hospital services for children show the same trends which the Study brought out in other fields—that facilities are more readily available in urban areas and poorest in the rural areas; that there are more in northeastern United States and less in the Southeast; that there are more and better facilities in the wealthy areas and fewer and poorer in the areas with a lower per capita income.

A number of communities have improved their hospital facilities independently, using the information in Hospital Services in the United States as a guide in solving their problems.