Akron, Cincinnati Children’s Hospitals Team Up for Specialty Care

AKRON, Ohio – Akron Children’s Hospital is teaming up with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to expand pediatric health services in medical specialties, including otolaryngology, hepatology and bone marrow transplants.

The two health systems collaborated for the past decade in the care of kidney transplant patients, and the newly announced collaborations will allow Akron Children’s to provide enhanced care for local patients in other specialties where Cincinnati Children’s excels, a news release states.

“We are proud to build upon our successful collaboration with Cincinnati Children’s to ensure Akron Children’s patients can receive complex care, close to home, only traveling to Cincinnati in rare instances,” said Chris Gessner, Akron Children’s president and CEO. “We know how important the relationship is between a patient and their care team, and now our patients in ENT, hepatology and bone marrow transplant will have access to Cincinnati Children’s specialists at Akron Children’s locations.”

Cincinnati Children’s has one of the top ENT programs in the country, and specialists with that health system have performed more than 800 kidney transplants, the release states. Using the successful kidney transplant relationship as a model, the two health systems also will align their protocols for children who need liver transplants, allowing them to receive most of their care close to home.

Akron Children’s Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders has been performing bone marrow transplants since 2003. This collaboration will enable Akron Children’s to grow its BMT volumes, improve care and achieve certification through the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, the release states.

Pictured at top: Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, Ohio.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.