Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1331050
COLLABORATIVE CARE FROM A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF PROVIDERS In order to turn that vision for children's hea lth care into a rea lity, leadership at Stony Brook Children's has intensely focused on implementing strong clinical programs in a number of specia lties, backed by the added expertise and capabilities of an academic medical center. Today, the hospital's care team includes more than 180 pediatric specia lists in 30 medica l specia lties, including a dedicated Pediatric Surger y tea m composed of four pediatric surgeons supported by a pediatric nurse practitioner. Providing advanced children's hea lth services a lso means ensuring that a full team of providers is engaged in ma king decisions and verifying optimal care. At Stony Brook Children's, an interdisciplinary team works collaboratively to promote healing and hope. While the team includes specialty physicians, there are many other associates who play meaningful roles in ma king sure pediatric patients are well cared for. "I've never seen anyone at our hospita l for whom this is just a job," Dr. Milana says. "Every person is rea lly engaged in the lives of these children and their families. We try to look at the family as a whole and then involve the family and staff to come up with the best plan for that patient. "All of our providers are pediatric-trained. That's what makes it different than receiving care in a community hospita l. We not only have the subspecia lists, we a lso have a ll the support staff — nurses, respiratory therapists, dietitians, Child Life Specia lists and others — that goes with them." " Our team approach allows us to utilize all of the knowledge and skills of our faculty to provide excellent, evidence-based care for our patients." — CARL KAPLAN, MD, INTERIM CHIEF OF THE PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AT STONY BROOK CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL "Having many different subspecialists within one clinical facility is not only convenient for the patient and family, but it also allows all of the providers to take care of that patient in a supportive and structured way as opposed to having care from multiple providers at multiple sites over an extended period of time," says Carl Kaplan, MD, Interim Chief of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Stony Brook Children's. "We rely on the support of our multitude of pediatric specialists to care for the ongoing needs of the critically ill or injured infant, child or young adult." Carl Kaplan, MD, Interim Chief of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Stony Brook Children's, evaluates a patient in one of Stony Brook Children's 10 private pediatric emergency rooms. To create a comforting environment, medical equipment is concealed behind soothing pictures. Prina Patel, MD, and Dr. Kaplan in the 10-private-room Pediatric Emergency Department M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S L O N G I S L A N D ■ 2 0 21 0 7