Children's National Health System

Physician Spotlight Janet Scheel, MD As the new Medical Director of the Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Program, Janet Scheel, MD, brings an abundance of experience and international renown to Children's National Health System. BEFORE JOINING CHILDREN'S National in September 2013, Dr. Scheel spent more than two decades practicing transplant medicine and pediatric cardiology. She underwent medical training at Georgetown University, Cornell University, and Johns Hopkins University, and is an active member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Most recently, Dr. Scheel served as Director of Johns Hopkins' Pediatric Heart Transplant Program, a position she held for 14 years. FROM ONE LANDMARK INSTITUTION TO ANOTHER Dr. Scheel was drawn to Children's National after visiting the hospital. BY THE NUMBERS "I was very impressed with the collaboration that goes on here among various clinical services," Dr. Scheel says. "There's also a lot of enthusiasm for building a comprehensive heart transplant program." BETWEEN 350 400 AND PEDIATRIC HEART Under Dr. Scheel's leadership, the Children's National Heart Institute will once again be able to offer heart transplantation as part of its pediatric heart failure services. Dr. Scheel says her goals as Medical Director include expanding the Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Program to allow for greater patient volume and developing a strong mechanical circulatory support program with both clinical and research components. A STEP FORWARD IN PEDIATRIC HEART FAILURE CARE Charles Berul, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Children's National and Co-director of the Children's National Heart Institute, helped recruit Dr. Scheel and says her addition to the team is a benefit for the hospital. "It says quite a bit about Children's National that we're able to attract someone of Dr. Scheel's caliber," Dr. Berul says. "We're excited to see her reinvigorate our pediatric heart transplant program and expand our use of ventricular assist devices, which are an essential part of managing children with heart failure." TR ANSPL ANTS PER YEAR WORLDWIDE CHARLES BERUL, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Children's National Health System and Co-director of the Children's National Heart Institute, says that, according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, between 350 and 400 heart transplants are performed on pediatric patients worldwide each year. This number represents around 10 percent of total heart transplants. 12 PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT FOR COMPREHENSIVE CARDIOLOGY and cardiac surgery referral guidelines, visit www.ChildrensNational.org/CardiacSurgeryReferral. The medical field has made significant progress in mechanical circulatory support for children awaiting transplant. We have a lot more options today and a great chance of increasing those options in the next few years. It's exciting to think that assist devices could someday help children improve heart function enough to no longer rely on the device and avoid transplantation completely." —JANET SCHEEL, MD, DIRECTOR OF THE HEART FAILURE AND CARDIAC TRANSPLANT PROGRAM AT CHILDREN'S NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

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