HJAR Nov/Dec 2020

48 NOV / DEC 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S HEALTH COLUMN CHILDREN’S HEALTH ADDRESSING PEDIATRIC SURGICAL NEEDS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS conditions have been referred out of NWA to either Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock or to children’s hospitals outside of the state. The effects of this displacement are financial and social burdens on the patients and their families as well as fragmentation of care. From 2007, limited outpatient consultation and postoperative follow- up for several surgical services has been provided in the region, requiring less travel for perioperative care for children THOUGH there are a number of barriers to accessing care, the most often discussed is socioeconomics. For children in NWA, physical distance is also a significant factor. Since the technology boom in healthcare in the 1980s, surgical subspecialty care has become increasingly centralized, primarily into large urban-centered hospitals. This has compounded the already significant gap in access to care for the rural American population – including Arkansans. Pediatric surgery has not been unaffected by this issue. With increasing specialization of medical trainees, fewer generalists are treating pediatric surgical disease, thus displacing families into larger cities to access even basic procedures. Over the years, the medical community in NWA has risen to the challenge of providing a strong foundation of basic pediatric outpatient and inpatient surgical care via three main hospital systems. Historically,childrenwithcomplexmedical problems, comorbidities or congenital Over the past 30 years, the population in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) has doubled and is projected to double again by 2045. There are currently 26 new residents added to the region daily, including over 7,000 births annually. Population growth generates an increased demand for healthcare.