Hospital Stays for Children and Teens
Children and teens may be hospitalized at Charlevoix Hospital, Grayling Hospital, Manistee Hospital, Mackinac Straits Health System in St. Ignace, Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, and Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord. These hospitals provide inpatient pediatric care allowing families to stay close to home. Munson Healthcare hospitals partner with Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor if pediatric patients need a higher level of care.
Intermediate Pediatric Care in Traverse City
Munson Medical Center is becoming a regional center for pediatric care in northern Michigan as the number of pediatric patients and the level of care being offered is increasing.
We provide intermediate pediatric care, meaning a higher level of care than a community hospital, but short of the intensive care provided at a children’s hospital. Munson Medical Center most often treats children who are hospitalized with respiratory disease, trauma, ingestion, infection, or childhood illness.
Our clinical and support staff are specially trained regarding the unique treatment for babies and children. Pediatric clinical staff has specialized training in sepsis (blood stream infection), newly-diagnosed juvenile diabetes, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in babies. The skill set of pediatric nurses includes pediatric EKG, pediatric blood draws, pediatric IV starts, intensive monitoring, and aggressive treatment of pediatric pain.
Pediatric Hospitalists Specialize in Caring for Kids
Munson Medical Center is staffed with pediatric hospitalists around the clock so specialty care is available for children 24/7. Pediatric hospitalists care for children in the hospital and coordinate treatment with the child’s primary care physician. The hospitalist works exclusively in the hospital, and oversees the child’s care from the time of admission through discharge. Pediatric hospitalists examine, evaluate, order tests, prescribe medications, and follow the child’s recovery on a daily basis.