Health officials announce plans for new pediatric care in Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — West Tennessee Healthcare and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital are announcing a new pediatric collaboration.

On Tuesday at the West Tennessee Healthcare board of trustees meeting, board members and the president of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital announced a new collaboration to provide specialized pediatric care to children across West Tennessee.

“This is so important to children because it’s going to allow pediatric experts from Le Bonheur right here in the community help kids get care close to home. We know having care close to home is best for families. It’s best for kids, and we’re excited to be a part of that,” said Michael Wiggins, president of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

During the meeting, a resolution was approved for the partnership and, in July, both organizations will ask the state of Tennessee for approval to develop a pediatric hospital inside of Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, licensed by Wiggins.

Wiggins says this will provide many opportunities for families, especially those in Jackson.

“Over time, we want to find ways to bring more of our pediatric experts over here to Jackson to serve the children in West Tennessee, and I’m so excited to be working with West Tennessee to see how we can do that and what opportunities we might have,” Wiggins said.

Health officials say this will also allow parents with newborns to stay closer to home.

West Tennessee Healthcare president and CEO James Ross says the planning process for this collaboration will all be worth it for kids.

“It was a very long process, but yet a very rewarding process. We wanted to make sure that we had an aligned mission and it was realized very quickly that we did,” Ross said.

More details regarding the partnership, including services they will provide, are expected to be released later this year.