UChicago Medicine Pediatric Hospitalists Bring Care to Hinsdale

University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital pediatric hospitalists now provide 24/7 care for young inpatients at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale. This agreement enables western suburban families access to high-level pediatric care close to home. It’s a direct outgrowth of a joint venture between UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth, combining the expertise and resources of both organizations.

The Comer Children’s pediatric hospitalists treat children who require inpatient hospital care for various medical conditions, ranging from acute illnesses to chronic diseases. They provide comprehensive medical management, coordinate multidisciplinary care and oversee the treatment plans of pediatric patients during their hospital stay.

“We provide the highest level of care feasible in a community hospital setting,” said John Cunningham, MD, physician-in-chief at Comer Children’s and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at UChicago. “Our commitment is to the community, and our philosophy is always to try to care for the child close to home if possible. Our experienced pediatric hospitalists will provide state-of-the-art care to children at Hinsdale.” Cunningham noted that H. Barrett Fromme, MD, head of Comer Children’s pediatric hospitalist program, is an eminent leader in pediatric hospital medicine. “We’re very fortunate to have a national leader as the leader of our pediatric hospitalist program,” he said.

The Comer Children’s hospitalists began caring for pediatric inpatients at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale on Aug. 1. Besides treating young inpatients, the hospitalists are available to consult with emergency room physicians on emergency cases involving children. The hospitalists can also provide telemedicine consultations with the medical team in the UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange emergency department.

“The expertise of UChicago Medicine’s pediatric hospitalists will benefit our patients tremendously,” said Bela Nand, MD, chief medical officer at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale and La Grange. “The fact that our young patients can receive such high-quality care without having to travel far from home is a great comfort for them and their families, who we are privileged to serve. The feedback we have received from everyone has been very positive.”

The agreement builds upon a program under which Comer Children’s physicians provide pediatric infectious disease care at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale.

Cunningham said that UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth leaders are working together to bring other inpatient pediatric subspecialty services to the Hinsdale hospital from the UChicago health system. “We will try over time to increase the number of children we can care for at Hinsdale so they do not have to go downtown for care,” he said.

Although the pediatric hospitalists assigned to the Hinsdale hospital will work there most of the time, they will continue working at Comer Children’s. “We want to ensure that the quality of care at both Comer Children’s and Hinsdale is identical and that we can transfer knowledge from the very large hospitalist program at Comer to the Hinsdale program,” Cunningham said.

At the same time, UChicago Medicine wants to ensure that knowledge gained by the hospitalists in Hinsdale is transferred to those in Hyde Park. UChicago Medicine, which also provides pediatric hospitalist services at several other hospitals in the Chicago area, has found that knowledge flows both ways, Cunningham said.

“We learn a lot from what we see at Hinsdale and other sites where we provide services,” he said. “It’s a bilateral exchange of information, expertise and knowledge, which is very exciting.”