The Nation - News from Oct. 9, 1986

Many premature babies are kept in the hospital longer than necessary while their parents, with training from a nurse, could care for them at home and save thousands of dollars in medical costs, a new study concluded. Researchers reviewed a model program and found that many premature babies weighing less than four pounds could be sent home an average of 11 days earlier than usual, saving an average of $18,560 each. The study, conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was described in today’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.