RICHMOND, Va. -- CHoR’s Surgeon-in-chief Dr. Tony Herndon and perioperative nurse manager Kelly Haase answer these four questions about why being a kid-focused surgery center is so important.
Can you explain what being a Level 1 children's surgery center actually means?
The Level 1 certification means we're committed to quality, safety, and access for our pediatric patients. We're the only academic children's hospital in the commonwealth with that certification, so when you walk into the Children's Hospital every team member, whether they’re the surgical tech, the radiology tech, or the nurse, everyone there is 100% committed to pediatric patients. In fact, we have pediatric anesthesia for all cases, and that's not the case for every hospital in the community that does pediatrics. We also have surgeons and anesthesia that are in the hospital 24-7. So, if your child needs ear tubes, hernia surgery, a 10-hour bladder reconstruction, or heart surgery, we have you covered. It really is invaluable when you and your little one come to us for help.
What does it mean to be kid-focused and why is that so important?
When you walk into CHoR, you can feel our commitment to kids. It's palpable to both our patients and to their parents. It is our goal to communicate everything to them at a level that is kid-appropriate, parent-appropriate, understandable to their support system and even their siblings. We communicate on that level from the door to the clinic, to the procedure and through post-operative care. If you're admitted, it is really one team caring for the entire family system, no matter who is included.
Kids don’t want to be in the hospital any longer than they have to, what type of surgical innovations are there at CHoR to allow for less recovery time?
We're so proud of our innovations and commitment to the pediatric patients at CHoR. One of the most recent and prevalent is robotic surgery. Using the robot means we have smaller incisions, a 3D picture and we can be more precise. Since our pediatric patients are smaller, some as young as five months, the robot really allows us to be exact during surgery. Not only do that have smaller incisions, the recovery time is much shorter. Often our patients can go home the next day and there’s less need for narcotics for pain, which is often a concern for families.
CHoR prides itself on caring for the whole child and family, not just the injury or illness. How do you that?
When children arrive at the hospital, from the person that greets them at the door to entering the surgery center, we are focused on the child and that family. Every bay is set up specifically for the child that's coming in. Our child life specialist researches each child and has a bed ready for their age range, their favorite color and their favorite toy. That's the best part about my job: at any moment, I step out of my office and go meet a family and sit and build with Magnetiles or push a child around in a buggy or even a sibling that might be having a hard time. It really is care for the whole family, and that doesn't stop when they leave us. If they are admitted, our child life specialists go with them. When they go home, we have follow-up visits and calls. So, it really is complete care and it’s so incredibly special.
For more information, you can give them a call at 804-828-CHOR or visit chrichmond.org. Connect on social media as well.
This segment is sponsored by Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
