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Fast Track Service Launched to Speed
Immunizations for Our Youngest Patients
The
American
Academy
of
Pediatrics
recommends at least six visits in the first year
of life to monitor growth, development and
psychosocial functioning. Four of those visits
require immunizations, which can be a
stressful and time-consuming experience for
families. In 2016, we created a special
immunizations “fast track” for babies age one
year and younger to reduce the time required
to receive the recommended immunizations.
Fingerstick Hemoglobin and Lead Testing
Services Spare Blood Draws for One-Year-
Olds
We offer well-baby checks, school and sports
physicals, daycare physicals and camp
physicals with an aim to prevent disease
before it appears. We are also
the only clinic
in the NCR that offers fingerstick hemoglobin
and lead
testing, sparing babies a blood draw
at the one-year well-child visit. In addition, we
offer instrument-based vision screening to
detect vision problems as early as six months
of age.
Newborn Services Include a Unique Two-
Week Well-Baby Clinic
The birth of a baby is an exciting time for
families, and we aim to support families with
convenient and comprehensive care after
delivery. Our unique two-week well-baby
clinic combines the mother’s obstetric follow-
up with the baby’s well exam and includes a
dedicated one-on-one education session with
a pediatric nurse. We also have a certified
lactation consultant, Patricia Bascietto, who
not only has private appointments, but also
has group appointments on a walk-in basis. As
a breastfeeding-friendly hospital, we afford
space for moms to breastfeed their babies
within the clinic and also have two portable
lactation pods in the building if mothers desire
additional privacy.
Adolescent Innovations
Our PCMH-
based Adolescent Medicine Clinic
provides primary care and subspecialty care to
teens and young adults ranging from 12-25
years old. Our Adolescent Medicine team is
passionate about promoting total teen health
and well-being; preventing injury, illness and
disease; and understands the unique period of
development from childhood to adulthood.
Our goal is to partner with patients and
families to ensure the best experience and
outcomes at every visit. We work with the
Pediatric Care Clinic and Pediatric Subspecialty
Clinics to
transition early teens as needed and
as parents desire to a more comprehensive
and holistic care team approach that
specializes in the specific needs of adolescents
and young adults.
Bringing Medical Care to Our Patients
We provide care to adolescents on a daily
basis, with open access through face-to face
visits, telephone consults, secure messaging
services via
email, as well as outlying clinics in
the N
CR and telehealth capabilities to better
serve patients. From sports medicine to
women’s health services to transgender care,
we work closely with other services and
specialties at Walter Reed Bethesda to ensure
the most comprehensive and seamless care
for our adolescents.
Opposite page:
Our mission in Primary
Care and Adolescent
Medicine is to keep our
nation’s next generation
healthy and thriving.
Flavored medications
make being sick easier to
swallow. That’s only one
of the benefits of the new
Pediatrics pharmacy. Just
steps away from exam
rooms, the pharmacy has
cut wait times in half.
When patients arrive at
the Pediatrics pharmacy,
they are given a pager,
which allows them to get
immunizations, schedule
follow-up or specialty
appointments, or even
grab a bite to eat while
they wait. A dedicated
pharmacist and pharmacy
technician check every
prescription for accuracy
and provide education.
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The Pediatric Subspecialty Service is the
largest pediatric subspecialty service in the
MHS and offers specialized assessment,
evaluation and care of infants, children and
adolescents with complex medical conditions.
Our pediatric subspecialists are expert
physicians who have completed extensive
training, education and research in their field.
They offer 24-hour support to the inpatient
and outpatient needs of the children of our
active duty and retired service members. Our
pediatric subspecialty services include forensic
pediatrics,
cardiology,
developmental
pediatrics,
endocrinology,
genetics,
gastroenterology,
infectious
diseases,
nephrology, neurology, pulmonology and
rheumatology. We strive to provide the right
care at a convenient location, including WRB,
FBCH, Joint Base Andrews, Kimbrough
Ambulatory Care Center and the United States
Naval Academy.
A Broad Range of Multidisciplinary
Clinics Allows Us to Serve the Most Complex
Pediatric Patients
That broad set of subspecialty services allows
us to offer a wide range of multidisciplinary
clinics, including an autism clinic, cerebral
palsy clinic, craniofacial, clinic, a cystic fibrosis
center of excellence, fetal echocardiography
clinic, healthy habits childhood obesity clinic,
high risk neonatal clinic, lupus and complex
disease clinic, sickle cell clinic and spina bifida
clinic, among others.
Unrivalled Access and Some of the Most
Advanced Technology Capabilities
Our access is unrivaled: wait times for
pediatric subspecialty appointments are one-
fourth the national average and are the fastest
in the Washington, DC and Baltimore areas. In
addition to our outreach to MTFs throughout
the NCR, we have expanded telemedicine
services and virtual consultative services to
address the needs of families stationed locally,
nationally and overseas. We also have some of
the most advanced testing and monitoring
services. From radiofrequency ablation for
complex
pediatric
heart
rhythms
and
continuous glucose monitoring of our patients
with diabetes to 3-D prenatal ultrasounds
images and non-invasive pill cams to diagnose
gastrointestinal disease, our experts have the
tools to make complex diagnoses and treat
them. We work collaboratively as a team to
provide seamless communication among
subspecialists and unparalleled quality and
continuity of care. Following are just some of
our recent innovations.
Pediatric Cardiology
Low or No Radiation Electrophysiology
Studies
Our pediatric electrophysiologist, Dr. Matthew
Needleman, uses the latest technology in
endocardial voltage mapping during pediatric
studies for heart rhythm abnormities to
successfully diagnose and treat a wide variety
of arrhythmias. He has successfully performed
many studies with no fluoroscopy exposure, a
significant achievement that can avoid the risk
of radiation exposure traditionally present
during these studies. His success with this
technology has been recognized as a leader in
the field at national cardiology conferences.
P
edia
tric Su
b
spec
ialty
Our pediatric
occupational therapist,
Mr. Mark Farinas,
evaluates patients on the
developmental pediatric
team, formulating
treatment plans that
allow children with
special needs to reach
their potential.
Jill E Emerick, MD
Chief, Subspecialty Care
CDR
|
MC
|
USN
WRB