How many children are hospitalized annually?
• More than 3 million children are hospitalized annually. Children’s hospitals treat more than 1 million, or about a third, of these hospitalized (inpatient) children at an annual cost of more than $11 billion. The volume of inpatient care provided by freestanding acute care children’s hospitals has climbed over the past five years by more than 10 percent, from an average of 9,967 admissions per hospital in 2001, to an average of 10, 968 admissions per hospital in 2005. The average number of outpatient visits to a freestanding acute care children’s hospital increased by almost 13 percent over 5 years, from 263,365 in 2001 to 296,801 in 2006. Who are the children served by children’s hospitals? Children who receive care from children’s hospitals span all ages, economic backgrounds and racial and ethnic minority groups. Of the children discharged from children’s hospitals in 2002: 58 percent were under age 5 42 percent were ages 6 and older 42 percent were low-income 42 percent were mino
