The Catalyst Issue 8 | Fall 2010 | Page 7

clinical expertise. This is best achieved through the creation of a dedicated children’s hospital designed completely around the needs of our youngest patients.” A growth spurt: Pediatric healthcare needs The Children’s Hospital at Scott & White will serve the growing number of families moving to the area, as well as children nearby who need pediatric expertise beyond that already provided by pediatric specialists at Scott & White. The Department of Pediatrics at Scott & White logged about 105,000 pediatric outpatient clinic visits and more than 6,000 pediatric hospitalizations in 2009. However, almost 700 children in Bell County each year leave to go to other children’s hospitals in Texas or elsewhere. “It’s difficult enough to have a sick child. But if you have to factor in the additional stress of leaving your home and job for a period of time, it becomes a tremendous burden for the entire family,” says John L. Boyd, MD. Dr. Boyd is chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Scott & White’s Children’s Hospitals and Clinics. “We don’t want to see kids transferred away to different cities, where the parents, who are already stressed, may not know how to get around,” says Madhava R. Beeram, MD, interim chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Scott & White Healthcare. “When they’re at home, the whole family has the support of friends and relatives. Our vision is to provide the best possible care for the State-of-the-art PEDIATRIC CARE - 64-bed inpatient facility: 48 private rooms, 16 pediatric ICU rooms - Advanced surgical suites - 14-bed Pediatric Emergency Department - Child Life Department PEDIATRIC SPECIALTY MEDICAL AND SURGICAL STAFF - Adolescent Medicine - Allergy and Immunology - Anesthesiology - Cardiology - Child Development - Emergency Medicine - Endocrinology - Gastroenterology - Hematology - Infectious Disease - Intensive Care - Mental Health - Nephrology - Neurology - Neurosurgery - Oncology - Orthopedics - Otolaryngology - Pediatrics - Pharmacology - Pulmonology - Radiology - Surgery - Urology Comprehensive laboratory services. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will remain at Scott & White Hospital - Temple, where it is it is currently located. NOTE: Limited services at King’s Daughters Hospital will remain open during the renovation, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2011. sw.org | Fall 10 THE CATALYST 7