LeadingAge New York Adviser Winter Vol. 1 | Page 21

ELIZABETH SETON
PEDIATRIC CENTER
Interview with Lisa Pascanzer, vice president of operations
What is the mission of Elizabeth Seton

area we are surrounded by hospitals who have

Pediatric Center?

the most cutting-edge technology and the best

Established in 1988, our mission is to be a

resources available. So many children are

center of pediatric rehabilitative and palliative

saved at birth and thrive because of the care

care for the most vulnerable children in New

that’s available to them now.

York City’s five boroughs and surrounding

That creates some challenges for

counties. The children have medical

the system.

complexities, multiple medical conditions and

It’s challenging but we like to think it’s a

cognitive impairments. We serve children from
birth through 21 years old. Over the years the
acuity of the children has really intensified.
When we first started, our children were a little
more cognitively aware and now they have a lot
of medical complexity and multiple diagnoses.
We see a lot of prematurity that leads to
underdeveloped systems including respiratory
and digestive, cardiac issues, cerebral palsy
and more. We seek to take care of them and
their families because when you take care of
pediatrics you take care of the whole family, not
just the child.
What changes have you noticed over time?
The children were not as acutely complex as
they are now. We are seeing more children with
respiratory issues and we see a lot of children
with ventilator dependent needs. Those are the
kids that we have chosen to focus on with the
development of our ventilator program.

blessing. Our kids are the most innocent,
loving, wonderful children you could ever hope
to meet. Every day we are very happy that we
can help them. They give to us as much if not
more than, we give to them.
Do you specialize in any areas of care
within that core mission?
We have done very well with comprehensive
feeding programs. For children who are born
with a lot of difficulty with oral intake, we’re
able to help wean them from a feeding tube
and help them get to the point where they
can go back home and be with their families.
Approximately 20-25 percent of our children go
back home. We have a lot of little babies that
come to us for nutrition therapy.
Of course the other area that we’re currently
expanding is our ventilator dependent care.
We currently are able to care for 18 ventilator
dependent children and we’re actually planning

Why do you think that’s increased so

to expand to care for an additional 32 ventilator

much? Prematurity?

dependent children. We hope to have those

The advancements in medical, pharmaceuticals

beds ready in early 2017. We currently have a

and technology and being in the New York City

total of 137 beds organizationally and these
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