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WHEN TRICITIES RESIDENTS Brett and Hayley Jay
learned their 2-year-old son, Brady, would need surgery for
a hernia, they were initially told that it would take place in
Seattle.
“Our pediatrician referred us to the pediatric surgeons at
the Seattle Children’s clinic across from Kadlec,” said Hayley.
“We were prepared to travel to Seattle for the surgery.”
But by the time Brady’s surgery came about,
the only travel they had to do was across town to
Kadlec Regional Medical Center, thanks to a new partnership
which brings pediatric surgery services to Kadlec.
“We were very excited,” said Hayley. “It was so much easier
on all of us. After surgery we were able to take Brady straight
home to his own bed. We love Kadlec anyway, so we felt
comfortable with having surgery there.”
One of the 11 pediatric surgeons who rotates to the
Tri-Cities as a part of the new program, and also the
doctor who performed Brady’s surgery, is pediatric surgeon
Kenneth Gow, MD.
“It is always about doing what is best for each patient and
family,” he said. “If we can provide care closer to home, it’s
always better. When we began considering doing surgery at
Kadlec, we had to determine if we could provide the same
high level of surgery and care as we can at Seattle Children’s.
After exploring this, we felt that we would be able to do so and
proceeded with building a partnership to make this happen.”
#e surgeries now being done at Kadlec are of relatively
low complexity performed on an outpatient basis. Specialties
include general pediatric surgery, urology, plastics, and ear,
Expanding
care for kids
close
to home
nose and throat specialties. Pediatric patients are generally
between the ages of 2 and 18.
“Kids are not little adults,” said Dr. Gow. “A hernia surgery
on a 20-year-old is very different than on a 2-year-old. We
focus on pediatric surgeries and the uniqueness of operating
on children.”
A key component for the pediatric surgeries is the
partnership with Kadlec’s pediatric hospitalists, according
to Dr. Gow. “We knew we needed to have a back-up, so that
when we returned to Seattle, our patients still had someone
able to provide them with care should they need it.
“We already have a relationship with Kadlec’s pediatric
hospitalists as a part of the oncology care,” he said, “so we knew
we could trust them. #at is very important to us.”
#e surgeons operate on #ursdays, according to
Natalie Jones, RN, Kadlec’s administrative director of
Perioperative and Maternal and Child Services.“#e doctors
remain available for post-operative care throughout the
evening. In addition, they are seeing patients in the clinic.”
Kadlec provides the operating space, equipment and
support staff such as nurses, anesthesiologists and surgical
technicians.
“We hope to continue to build a partnership with the
area’s pediatricians and family practice physicians,” said
Dr. Gow. “We want them to understand we are offering
pediatric surgeries at Kadlec, keeping families in their own
communities, saving them money, making it easier for them,
and still providing the level of care that they would get if they
were go to Seattle.”
New partnership with Seattle Children’s in place
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www.kadlec.org