Hospital Medicine
Our pediatric hospitalists are medical doctors who focus on caring for children and typically visit your child every day they are in the hospital. We encourage families and caregivers to be there for these visits to hear the latest details about the plan for that day. As an important member of your child’s care team, we want you to ask questions and help set overall goals for your child’s hospital stay.
During these morning visits, called rounds, the hospitalist may be joined by a team of learners, including medical students, residents and fellows. These trainees aren’t just there to learn, they can offer valuable insight into your child’s care. In fact, multiples studies have shown that teaching hospitals offer better quality care than hospitals without trainees. The more medical professionals in your child’s corner, the better. And while your child is in the hospital, our team stays in close touch with their primary care pediatrician.
We use a team-based approach to create a comprehensive care plan that will best serve your child’s needs, along with the unique needs of your family. During their stay, your child may be visited by other key members of the patient care team, such as:
- Case managers
- Child life specialists
- Nutritionists
- Pediatric nurses
- Pediatric physician specialists
- Pharmacists
- Respiratory therapists
- Social workers
Complex Care Coordination
Children with medical complexity (CMC) hold a special place in the hearts of pediatric hospitalists. Because Phoenix Children’s offers care in more than 75 subspecialty fields of pediatric medicine, children with medical complexity from all over the country call Phoenix Children’s their medical home. Our pediatric hospitalists expertly navigate complex medical and social needs to provide the best service to our patients.
We understand that your family may be facing a severe medical crisis. Our complex care coordination is available to your child to provide continuity of care in the hospital setting, as well as to ensure smooth transitions of care back into the community and home environment. In addition to our highly trained physicians, our complex care coordination includes a nurse practitioner and a care navigator.
Here’s what complex care coordination means for you as a patient family:
- Expert care that covers every area of medicine needed during your child’s hospital stay
- Familiar faces, so each time you’re with us, you can count on someone who knows your story and past treatments
- Assistance organizing home health needs and scheduling follow-up visits
- Help getting authorizations and durable medical equipment (DME)
- Follow-up calls from our team after discharge
- Continued help once your child is home to address medical concerns and answer your questions
Med-Peds Consultation
Despite being a children’s hospital, Phoenix Children’s cares for a number of adult patients in special circumstances, particularly those between 18 and 26 years old. These patients benefit from an adult medicine perspective in their care. Phoenix Children’s has Med-Peds providers who are trained and board certified in both pediatrics and internal medicine.
Through Med-Peds Consultation, these providers support the care needs of patients over 18 years old while they are in the hospital. These Med-Peds consults address the relevant adult acute care needs of the young adult patients admitted at Phoenix Children’s. They also address the social determinants of health and transitional care needs common in young adulthood.
Through Med-Peds Consultation and in close collaboration with case management – we have dedicated resources that focus on helping young adult patients transition their care to adult providers. We provide resources and support, when appropriate, to address active transitional care needs during their hospital stay. Case managers also follow up with patients after discharge to offer continued support.
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Continuous quality improvement is an important aspect of Hospital Medicine. Our team focuses on improving processes and optimizing patient safety. Many of our providers in Hospital Medicine have received extra training – and now train other staff in safety measures. Keeping our patients at the forefront of all we do allows us to fine-tune the high-quality care we offer.
Medical Education and Clinical Research
At Phoenix Children’s we’re dedicated to enhancing the field of Hospital Medicine through our residency and fellowship programs as well as clinical research and quality improvement studies. Our goal is to ensure all patients have access to the latest and most effective treatment options.