Modern Healthcare reports that the  intensified rivalry has pushed both kinds of  institutions “to launch dueling marketing campaigns in places such as day-care centers and preschools.”

“We’re seeing a number of regional systems that want to build their pediatric capabilities even in areas where there’s an established children’s hospital,” Mark Grube,  a managing director at consulting firm Kaufman Hall, told the publication. “They want to keep more services in-network.””In the past, most general hospital systems didn’t have enough patient volume to support the large number of pediatric subspecialties required to offer a comprehensive service line. But megamergers are changing the landscape. ‘The system formation work that’s going on is supporting the development of pediatric programs,’ Grube said.”For instance, “In suburban Chicago, Alexian Brothers Health System last year signed a letter of intent to form a pediatric partnership with Loyola University Health System. The alliance will allow both systems to share hard-to-find pediatric sub-specialists and treat some of the patients who might have otherwise traveled downtown to Lurie Children’s Hospital, which is affiliated with Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.”