Since June 1, 2012 there have been at least 108 visits by children under 18 to the pediatric Emergency Department (ED) at Boston Medical Center due to homelessness. All of these children, representing 68 families,were evaluated for illness or injury, but many came simply because they had been turned away from shelter and didn’t have anywhere to go.
The impact of the new Emergency Assistance (EA) regulations on just one emergency department are evident in these examples. Personal identifiers have been changed to protect patient privacy.