Approximately one in 33 babies in the U.S. is born with a birth defect. Among the most common are atrioventricular septal defects, spina bifida and intestinal atresia or stenosis.¹ Many major defects are detected early during routine ultrasound imaging. “For women with a complex, high-risk pregnancy, a multidisciplinary team is usually needed to manage the needs of the mother and baby, throughout pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care,” explains Jaimey M. Pauli, M.D., a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Pauli and Thomas Chin, M.D., chief, pediatric cardiology, co-direct the Penn State Perinatal Program, an active outreach program for patients who are pregnant or have newborns with birth defects or abnormalities.

“Expectant parents are often overwhelmed when they learn about these serious fetal abnormalities. Aside from coping with the obvious emotional impact, they need help obtaining the complex care their baby requires to achieve the best possible outcomes. With our program, a team of specialists handles everything and provides highly coordinated care at a single center, which reduces stress and supports the parents,” adds Dr. Pauli.

Continue reading “Multidisciplinary Perinatal Program Cares for Mothers and Babies” →

As one of the few tertiary care pediatric centers in Pennsylvania, Penn State Children’s Hospital features a Children’s Heart Group that has been an active presence in the community for decades. The Children’s Heart Group (CHG) provides fetal echocardiography, interventional cardiology, arrhythmia care, electrophysiology, cardiac intensive care and pulmonary hypertension services, as well as heart surgery to pediatric patients across the Commonwealth.

Thomas Chin, M.D., chief, pediatric cardiology, explains that CHG specialists perform complex surgery on neonates and children (as well as adults with congenital heart defects) and treat more typical conditions requiring pediatric cardiology consultation, such as heart murmurs, fainting and chest pain. They also help patients transition to adult cardiac care, as more than 90 percent of pediatric cardiology patients reach adulthood and require ongoing cardiology care. In fact, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has one of the longest-established programs in adult congenital heart disease in the U.S. Pediatric and adult cardiologists collaborate to care for patients with heart defects, as well as the cardiac concerns they develop as adults. Continue reading “Near or Far, Penn State Children’s Heart Group Provides Full Continuum of Care” →

Medical science has progressed significantly in the treatment of pediatric cancers; however, certain tumors remain resistant, leading to poor prognoses and survival rates.¹ “With experimental therapeutics, we focus on those pediatric cancer patients for whom conventional treatment has failed,” says Valerie Brown, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director, experimental therapeutics, Penn State Children’s Hospital. “Our goal is to target these cancers more precisely to increase the cure rate and diminish the risk of patients developing short-term and long-term side effects.”

Since its inception in 2010, the Pediatric Cancer Experimental Therapeutics Program has benefited from funding provided through Four Diamonds. Funding to Four Diamonds comes through The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately known as THON™, Mini-THON^® and other community organizations.
Continue reading “Thanks to Four Diamonds, the Pediatric Cancer Experimental Therapeutics Program Collaborates to Save Lives” →

Pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Penn State Children’s Hospital offers advanced treatments that result in stellar outcomes. In addition, both statewide and national reports provide compelling outcomes-based validity that Children’s Hospital provides outstanding care to children living with heart conditions.

Two specialized pediatric heart surgeons, John Myers, M.D., director, pediatric and congenital heart surgery, and Brian Clark, M.D., perform procedures related to all types of congenital heart disease, including the various complex forms of single ventricle heart disease. The collaborative, multidisciplinary team at Children’s Hospital is also armed with experienced clinicians who specialize exclusively in the management of congenital heart disease, and includes physicians with expertise in echocardiography, fetal ultrasound, electrophysiology and cardiac catheterization, as well as exercise physiology, hypertension, obesity and cardiovascular wellness.

In addition, the majority of congenital heart defects are now discovered in utero, and Children’s Hospital’s outstanding perinatal program and robust fetal echocardiography program bring expert staff to many outreach centers throughout Pennsylvania. Continue reading “Nationally Recognized Pediatric Heart Surgery Program Offers Life-changing Treatments with Excellent Outcomes” →