Pediatric admissions at Lourdes have been declining for 15 to 20 years because of improvements in medical procedures and preventive care, said Wendy Marano, director of public relations for the Lourdes Health System, which operates the 410-bed Camden center.

"The very small percentage of kids that do need to be admitted" will go to Cooper University Hospital, about one mile away, Marano said.

The Cooper pediatric unit should be able to handle the extra patients in its 23 regular and six intensive-care beds, said associate chief nursing officer Dianne Charsha. The typical daily occupancy is 14, she added, so accommodating three or four more children each day should not be a problem.

And at Lourdes, a special area has been set up in the emergency room for children with conditions such as seasonal flu, asthma, or dehydration that require medical monitoring but not inpatient care.

Cutting the inpatient pediatric unit will allow Lourdes to improve its focus on other areas, particularly its outpatient services, Marano said. Maternity, prenatal, and neonatal care, including the 25-bed intensive-care unit for newborns, will be unaffected by the closure. All outpatient programs for children and teens will continue as before.

Fewer than 300 patients used the pediatric unit last year, and on many days all the beds were empty. But to keep the unit licensed, it had to be staffed at all times just in case a patient was admitted - a costly proposition.

While the closure will save Lourdes money, it was not motivated primarily by economic concerns, Marano said.

"I wouldn't characterize the hospital as having financial troubles at this time. In terms of New Jersey hospitals, we're right in the middle of the pack," she added.

The pediatric unit was staffed by registered nurses, with 10 full-time-equivalency positions. Lourdes' human-resources department is working with these nurses to find them other positions in the Health System.

Marano said that the health system was "still working through that process," and that she was unsure how many would be reassigned.