Erie's Shriners Hospital for Children is officially out of the in-patient care business.

A plan that's been three-plus years in the making is now a reality, and Shriners says it means good news their patients and families.
Shriners hospital is now officially an "Ambulatory Surgery Center."
Meaning children with skeletal issues, will now only receive out-patient services at Shriners.
Surgeries requiring overnight stays will be moved to UPMC-Hamot, or out of town to Pittsburgh, or even Philadelphia.
Shriners says this move saves them a considerable amount of money, helping them to keep the local hospital open.
And the hospital also officially announced that they're leasing the extra space on the second floor to The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. So now, specialists from Pittsburgh can see kids, right here in Erie.

"We believe on many different fronts this will allow us to actually provide more services to children and their families and do it at less cost and ensure our long term viability and long-term presence here in Erie and the region." Said Charles Walczak, the Administrator, of Shriners Hospitals of Erie.

"Most kids now-a-days don't require a lot of hospitalization. So they're being seen frequently, but it is in an outpatient setting. It's easier for one physician to go 2 hours than it is for 20 families to go to two hours." Said Medical Director, James Roach, M.D..


So, all in-patient surgeries will be performed by Shriners' doctors, at their partnering hospitals. And, all pre-surgical and follow-up care will be at the current Shriners facility.