The new partnership, which began April 1st, gives access to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s “specialized-care” options to those receiving care at ChristianaCare locations.
The move is an effort to reduce expenditures by families seeking advanced treatment. Previously, those care options were only available if a family could afford to regularly travel to Philadelphia.
Megan Mickley is Chair of Pediatrics at ChristianaCare.
“We have a fundamental belief that children, like adults in healthcare, deserve choices. I like to tell everyone: this affiliation is truly additive, it's not exclusive." she told DPM.
Family focused care is also a goal that CHOP CEO Madeline Bell said they share when commenting on the partnership in a written statement,
"Delivering seamless, family-centered care is part of our mission at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,” she said. “ChristianaCare is a trusted and innovative health system, and this affiliation reflects our shared commitment to redefining what’s possible in pediatric medicine. We’re excited to begin this next chapter and expand access to exceptional care for children throughout the region.”
On April 1, the Center for Women's and Children's Health was activated at the ChristianaCare Newark campus. This includes the 24/7 Pediatric Care Center and the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care unit, both of which are "always-active" centers, providing emergency child-care 24/7.
Mickley says ChristianaCare’s initial focus is on consultations, specifically those that would change the care a patient is already receiving. She notes that focus is mostly on newborn infant care, hospitalist medicine, and pediatric emergency medicine.
“And, our initial focus is on establishing initial consultation services that augment the care we provide in those spaces. But, we are really pulling together multidisciplinary critical stakeholders from across our institution to approach this as an evolution.” she said.
The expanded services are primarily available now at the ChristianaCare Newark campus, but Mickley says some can also be found at their Cecil campus.
ChristianaCare says it will continue to look for new ways to connect families with specialized teams as the partnership moves forward.
