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Family Of 3-Year-Olds Upset Over Closure Of Pediatric Ward

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - A Denver-area family who was getting ready for their twin boys to get their tonsils out says they were given very little warning when the pediatric ward at a Wheat Ridge medical facility suddenly closed.

The Anderson family brought their concerns about Exempla Lutheran Medical Center to CBS4, saying they didn't want to have to face another season of problems.

"Going another winter with bouts of strep, bouts of sickness, possible hospitalization, really is not an option," said Katie Anderson, mom of Zylan and Rycker, both 3.

The boys were scheduled to have their tonsils and adenoids out in a week, and Anderson says she just found out this week in a phone call that the facility where the boys were supposed to recover-- Exempla Lutheran's inpatient pediatric unit in Wheat Ridge -- was shutting down.

"I was kind of upset and asked them 'Why didn't we have any kind of notice?'" she said. "And they said they didn't really have any notice."

The hospital released a statement saying "there's been a shift to providing pediatric care in specialty hospitals or an outpatient setting. As a result, patient volumes in our pediatric unit have decreased."

Exempla Lutheran sent CBS4 a new statement late Wednesday night saying they were working with the Andersons and that the surgeries should now take place next week as scheduled.

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