The Pediatric Spring Symposium held May 7, 2011, at St. Rita’s Auxiliary Conference Center marked the beginning of a new relationship for St. Rita’s Medical Center (SRMC) and Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH). The collaboration will enable advanced education and training for physicians, extend state-of-the-art pediatric research to Allen County and provide increased direct patient access to NCH pediatric experts.
According to Gil Peri, Director of Growth Initiatives at NCH, "Nationwide Children's Hospital is pleased to collaborate with St. Rita's Medical Center to enhance neonatal and pediatric care in Allen county and surrounding communities. Our neonatologists and pediatric sub-specialists are looking forward to working with the hospital and community physicians to provide care close to home."
Clinical care includes additional specialty clinics, reference laboratory testing, consultation services for SRMC’s nursery and telemedicine capabilities.
NCH currently provides Cardiology and Gastroenterology clinic services at the SRMC Pediatric Specialty Clinic. NCH will also support future specialty clinics based on community needs, such as: Endocrinology, Pulmonology and Genetics.
ChildLabSM, a division of NCH and a nationally recognized pediatric and esoteric laboratory, is working with SRMC to provide pediatric specific laboratory services. ChildLabSM staff are specially trained in pediatrics and are able to conduct a full range of laboratory tests which are sent to NCH for analysis in order to maintain high quality diagnostic care.
A telemedicine network will now connect neonatology experts at both SRMC and NCH. Together NCH and SRMC will look for opportunities to leverage this technology in the SRMC nursery, providing telemedicine consults with NCH neonatologists. Telemedicine, also known as videoconferencing, enhances accessibility and communication between physicians through real-time videoconferencing, allowing NCH physicians to visually access patients and review diagnostic images and data in real-time. This technology enables specialists at NCH to view distressed patients with exceptional clarity, examine detailed x-rays, view lab results and consult with SRMC physicians. A demonstration of the telemedicine capabilities will be available following the Pediatric Spring Symposium on May 7th, 2011.
Through this collaborative relationship, SRMC and NCH seek to enhance pediatric care to residents of Allen and the surrounding communities.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Ranked in U.S.News & World Report’s 2010 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” and Parents magazine’s 2009 top 10 “Best Children’s Hospitals” lists, Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children, adolescents and adult patients with congenital disease. A medical staff of 980 and a hospital staff of 7,200 provide state-of-the-art pediatric care for more than 930,000 patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded freestanding pediatric research facilities. Nationwide Children’s remains true to the original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
St Rita’s Medical Center
St. Rita’s Medical Center, a 425-bed acute care not- for-profit facility, delivers quality health care to more people in West Central Ohio than any other hospital in a 10-12 county region. St. Rita’s is part of Catholic Health Partners, named one of the top 10 health systems in the US by Thomson Reuters for the second year in a row. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1918, St. Rita’s serves in ways that reflect our Core Values of Compassion, Excellence, Human Dignity, Justice, Sacredness of Life and Service. Our mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus by improving the health of our communities with emphasis on people who are poor and under-served. Medical services include The Henry & Beverly Hawk Heart & Vascular Center at St. Rita’s, St. Rita’s Orthopedic Care Center, St. Rita’s Regional Cancer Center, trauma and emergency services, women’s health, mother/baby, pediatrics, sports medicine and rehabilitation, and addiction and behavioral services.
Contacts
Linda Chartrand, St. Rita’s Medical Center, 419-226-9802
Media Relations, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 614-355-0495