Rebecca A. Baum, MD, will become the new chief of the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital effective January 1, 2017. Dr. Baum is currently an associate medical director of Partners for Kids, one of the nation’s largest pediatric accountable care organizations. She is a board-certified developmental and behavioral pediatrics specialist, and former medical director of the Behavioral Medicine and Consultation Clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Baum is associate professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She also serves as co-medical director for the Building Mental Wellness Learning Collaborative with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Ohio Chapter and as the physician lead for the Navigate My Care Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which is designed to improve patient care coordination, flow and access through what can be a complex healthcare system.
She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, trained in residency and served as chief resident at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Baum completed a fellowship in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital after practicing as a primary care physician in central Pennsylvania.
“Dr. Baum is a distinguished professional who will continue to help Nationwide Children’s Hospital stay in the forefront of exceptional pediatric developmental and behavioral health care,” said John A. Barnard, Chief of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “Dr. Baum is a national expert on the engagement of pediatric primary care practitioners in mental health care and in partnership with the AAP, she has developed a series of on-line learning modules related to pediatric mental health and has written extensively on mental health issues in the pediatric primary care setting,” continued Dr. Barnard, also the President of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Baum is currently chair of the Project Advisory Committee for the AAP’s Practice Improvement to Address Adolescent Substance Use Project and is also a member of their Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. She serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Pediatric Care Online, an extensive web resource for members of the AAP.
Dr. Baum is also a member of multiple local and regional committees and advisory boards including the Mental Health Clinical Round Table of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; Good 4Growth Learning Collaborative of the Ohio Chapter of the AAP; the Ohio State University’s Kids in Columbus Study; and the QIP Quality Committee at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Baum succeeds Dr. Dan Coury, who served as Division Chief beginning in 1991. Dr. Coury will continue full time as a clinician and in his multiple administrative roles locally and nationally, including national medical directorship of the Autism Treatment Network.