Jonathan Wispe, MD, Appointed Associate Chief of Neonatology at Nationwide Childrens Hospital

Jonathan Wispe, MD (45235), has been appointed associate chief of Neonatology at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. Dr. Wispe will assume the administrative and leadership activities for the Neonatology clinical programs and faculty at Nationwide Childrens. He also will hold a faculty appointment at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Stephen Welty, MD, chief of Neonatology at Nationwide Childrens, will continue to direct the program focusing primarily on the academic and research programs. Together, Drs. Welty and Wispe will divide the responsibilities of faculty reviews, evaluations and career development.

We are very fortunate to have someone of Dr. Wispes caliber join our Neonatology program, said Dr. Welty. The patients we treat and our program will directly benefit from the expertise and experience Dr. Wispe brings to the team.

Dr. Wispes specific areas of focus at Nationwide Childrens include the clinical programs in Neonatology with particular interests in neonatal transport, ECMO, congenital heart disease and nutritional management for the sick neonate. A self-described teacher at heart, Dr. Wispe will also be actively involved in the Neonatology residency and fellowship programs at Nationwide Childrens.

Dr. Wispe comes to Nationwide Childrens from the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., where he was a neonatologist and held a stint as chief of Neonatology. He also was a professor of Pediatrics in Neonatology at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Wispe received his medical degree and masters degree in pharmacology from the University of Iowa. He also completed his residency in pediatrics and fellowship in neonatology at the University of Iowa. Dr. Wispe is a board-certified pediatrician (1984) and is board-certified in neonatal-perinatal medicine (1985). He has more than 30 publications and has written nearly 40 chapters and abstracts.

Dr. Wispe's research has focused on the lung development of premature babies and how to protect premature infants' lungs while properly supporting their breathing during the first days and weeks of life.

Nationwide Childrens Hospital Division of Neonatal Medicine
With 167 beds, Nationwide Childrens Hospital Division of Neonatal Medicine is the largest program in the country, delivering the highest level of care, and treating nearly 4,500 babies in 2007 alone. The clinical teams and researchers are dedicated to preventing all complications of prematurity through the development of three key programs:

-Comprehensive Center for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
-Fetal Diagnostics
-Neonatal and Infant Feeding Disorders Program

Nationwide Childrens is one of only two hospitals nationally to incorporate family-centered design standards into our NICUs, allowing families the ability to foster closer relationships with their babies while exposing them to some of the daily culture and traditions they would experience at home. The combination of all of these benefits helps reduce the overall catch-up time that many premature babies experience.