Brigham and Women's Hospital and Miami Children's Health System Partner to Develop a Comprehensive Fetal Program

MIAMI, Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Experts from BWH will partner with MCHS to provide recommendations related to the development of the program, including establishing a high-risk-fetal labor and delivery unit at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, slated to open in 2017, as well as guidance on clinical protocols and opportunities for training and education.

"Brigham and Women's Hospital is a leading provider of fetal and newborn care, including the diagnosis and treatment of newborn babies with complex medical issues," said Dr. M. Narendra Kini, CEO at MCHS. "We are eager to bring their expertise to Nicklaus Children's Hospital with the goal of developing a comprehensive and patient-focused facility for women with high-risk-fetal pregnancies and their babies."

"We are driven by our mission to provide high-quality patient- and family-centered care to communities here in Boston, across the nation and around the globe," said Steven Thompson, senior vice president and chief business development officer at BWH.  "Miami Children's Health System, its Nicklaus Children's Hospital and BWH share a commitment to improve the health of mothers and their babies, and I'm confident that our collaboration will have a meaningful impact on the patient care available to families in South Florida."

BWH has one of the most advanced women's health centers in the world committed to the discovery, dissemination, and integration of knowledge on women's health, including obstetrics and gynecology and newborn medicine. Terrie Inder, MD, PhD, an internationally respected clinician and researcher, is the chair of the Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine at BWH.

"As a newborn medicine specialist, I consider it a privilege to care for the tiniest patients and their families," said Inder. "I look forward to sharing the expertise available at BWH with my colleagues at MCHS to create a program that will offer comprehensive care for pregnant women who have challenging fetal diagnoses."

Following an in-depth site assessment, BWH will advise MCHS on issues related to the development of the physical plant, including key decisions about equipment and technology. BWH will also offer recommendations about standardizing care models and clinical protocols and arrange for opportunities to participate in joint fetal conferences via telemedicine. Additionally, patients and researchers at MCHS will have the opportunity to participate in BWH clinical trials and other research initiatives.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital is ranked in multiple categories by U.S. News & World Report in its 2015-16 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings, including 13^th in neonatology and seventh in neurology and neurosurgery. In addition, the hospital has three nationally recognized intensive care units, a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), which provide state-of-the-art services to patients referred from all over the world. All three Nicklaus Children's Hospital intensive care units have received Beacon Awards for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, with the NICU and PICU achieving Gold Awards and the CICU receiving a Silver. Beacon Awards laud U.S.-based hospital critical care units that demonstrate use of evidence-based practices to improve patient outcomes.

"This relationship between BWH, MCHS, and Nicklaus Children's Hospital demonstrates a commitment to the families of South Florida to offer ease of access to unparalleled high-quality tertiary and quaternary newborn labor and delivery care," said Michael Davis, MPH, MBA, senior vice president of strategy, business development and innovation at MCHS.  "Ultimately the goal through this partnership is to afford pregnant mothers delivering high-risk newborns the best possible outcome for their child as he or she enters the world."

About Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare. BWH has more than 4.2 million annual patient visits, nearly 46,000 inpatient stays and employs nearly 16,000 people. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in patient care, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and its dedication to research, innovation, community engagement and educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at itsBrigham Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, more than 1,000 physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by nearly $600 million in funding. For the last 25 years, BWH ranked second in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among independent hospitals. BWH continually pushes the boundaries of medicine, including building on its legacy in transplantation by performing a partial face transplant in 2009 and the nation's first full face transplant in 2011. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative as well as the TIMI Study Group, one of the premier cardiovascular clinical trials groups. For more information, resources and to follow us on social media, please visit BWH's online newsroom.

About Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children's Hospital – part of Miami Children's Health System – is South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with several specialty programs ranked among the best in the nation in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015-16, by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.

CONTACT  
Lori J. Schroth, Brigham and Women's Hospital 
(617) 525-6374; [email protected]

Jennifer Caminas, Miami Children's Health System
305-668-5514; [email protected]

SOURCE Nicklaus Children's Hospital