Brownsville, TX (KRGV) — Valley Baptist Medical Center will stop accepting new admissions to its pediatric unit on Nov. 13, leaving Brownsville without a pediatric inpatient unit.

Valley Regional Medical Center closed its pediatric inpatient unit in May. Both hospitals say they are closing the units because not enough children are being admitted.

Channel 5 News spoke with a father of six worried about what this means for parents. 

“They shouldn't close the pediatric units because why should people have to spend money on transportation, food, and everything else?" Brownsville resident Emilio Lopez Covarrubias said.

Both emergency rooms will keep treating children. If a child needs to be hospitalized, doctors will have to decide where that child can get care, and that could mean a transfer outside Brownsville.

A doctor familiar with Valley Baptist's pediatric services spoke about the closure and asked Channel 5 News to conceal their identity. 

"A lot of our patient population, they'll rely heavily on their family to take turns in caring for the child so that they don't miss work... and that will become very, very, very difficult for our families to achieve if they're sent further away to get inpatient care,” the doctor said.

The anonymous doctor said they question the decision to close the unit, adding that pediatric care should be about serving the community.

“Having pediatric beds, you're doing it for the good of the community and having a place for kids to go to get better,” the doctor said. "You don't do it because you're trying to make money off of them."

Dr. Asim Zamir, who has served as chief of pediatrics at Valley Baptist and chief of staff at Valley Regional, said fewer children tend to get sick and need hospital care in the summer. He says some children stay 24 to 48 hours before they are well enough to go home, which makes it harder for hospitals to keep beds filled and staffed all year.

"We cannot sustain that all year round," Zamir said.

Zamir said his biggest concern is what happens to children who need that care close to home, especially those with complex medical conditions.

“They need to be here unless they really need to go to tertiary hospital, and I think that's what my vision is, to have a pediatric ward or micro hospital here in Brownsville,” Zamir said.

Both hospitals will also keep their neonatal intensive care units open, but children who have to be hospitalized may have to go to Harlingen, Edinburg, or outside the Rio Grande Valley.

Watch the video above for the full story.