Cincinnati Children’s and Parkview Health announce pediatric specialty care affiliation

Monday, September 17, 2018

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Parkview Health announced today they are collaborating to expand pediatric care in cardiology, gastroenterology (GI) and general surgery to families in the Fort Wayne region.

The collaboration will include innovative telehealth consultations that will allow a family and their Parkview physician to conduct a video conference with a specialty physician at Cincinnati Children’s, allowing physicians to work together on a child’s care plan. This approach brings advanced care to the patient, reducing or even eliminating the need for travel to receive care. For patients who require inpatient care at Cincinnati Children’s, a coordinated approach for referrals and local follow-up appointments will streamline care.

Additionally, Cincinnati Children’s will provide training to Parkview physicians and clinical teams and share best practices to improve patient outcomes. Examples include protocol sharing, access to education, case reviews and diagnostics.

“This collaboration is centered around the patient and giving them access to a higher level of care,” said Tom Miller, MD, physician leader, Parkview Women’s & Children’s Hospital. “We are now able to provide specialty care alongside the nation’s No. 2 ranked children’s hospital. Creating convenient access to skilled physicians at Cincinnati Children’s who are leaders in their fields can make all the difference to a child battling illness. We’re excited to make that connection for our community.”

“Parkview Health and Cincinnati Children’s both share a deep commitment to changing the outcome for the children in the communities we serve,” said Pramod Reddy, MD, physician leader for clinical affiliations, Cincinnati Children’s. “Together, through this collaboration, we will be able to help bring care close to home while being a trusted partner to serve those patients with complex care needs.”

“Cardiology, GI and general surgery were identified as top priorities for pediatric specialty care in northeast Indiana, so that is where we began,” Miller added. “We hope to expand our collaboration to additional specialties, programs and services in the future to meet the changing needs of patients in our region.”

Cincinnati Children’s and Parkview Health have been collaborating on pediatric trauma care for several years under the leadership of Richard Falcone, MD, director of trauma services, Cincinnati Children’s. This new affiliation builds upon and broadens the relationship between the two health systems.