Citing falling admission rates, Tampa-based Shriners Hospitals is considering a plan to consolidate its burn treatment services, which could trigger partial or total closures of its pediatric burn hospitals in Boston and Cincinnati — two of only four such facilities in Shriners’ network.

The Boston Globe reported that patients from those facilities may be referred to remaining Shriners hospitals far away from those locations, or could be shunted over to local providers. At present, Shriners Hospitals services are provided through an endowment, allowing the organization to provide care to families regardless of their ability to pay.

Critics of the consolidation move note that referring patients to far-afield or for-fee providers could represent a tremendous hardship for many lower-income families of critically-injured children.

Read the whole story here in the Boston Globe.