It was a Tuesday. The morning text from Pam, the nurse who supervises the children’s unit at our hospital said that we had no beds open and that “early discharges will be appreciated.” I spent the morning rounding with my team of resident physicians, going from room to room, examining sick or injured kids and planning for the day. This toddler, whose lungs were still fragile from premature birth, would need more time on oxygen. This teen-ager’s liver had recovered from an overdose, and she was waiting for a bed at a psychiatric hospital. This baby’s seizures had slowed down.