Children's Health Network
Children’s Hospital Boston at Caritas Norwood Hospital
In 1999, Children’s Hospital Boston opened outpatient pediatric
specialty clinics at Caritas Norwood Hospital. Two years ago,
that collaboration expanded to provide Children’s internationally
recognized emergency and inpatient pediatric care to families
served by Caritas Norwood. Children’s physicians staff the emergency
department, inpatient pediatric unit and newborn nursery at Caritas
Norwood Hospital around-the-clock. In addition, Children’s physicians
continue to provide outpatient pediatric specialty care at Caritas
Norwood in the areas of cardiology, gastroenterology, urology,
endocrinology and pulmonary medicine.
“The specialty clinics and the expansion of our Children’s relationship
two years ago into other areas of pediatric care have been highly
successful and very well received,” says Delia O’Connor, Caritas
Norwood president. In this expanded relationship, pediatricians
based at the Caritas Norwood emergency department have become
part of the medical staff in the Division of Emergency Medicine
at Children’s Hospital Boston.
“The strong relationship with Children’s offers numerous benefits
to patients,” says Bruce Weinstock, MD, MPH,
Caritas Norwood director of pediatrics. “By being on-site regularly
at Children’s, we expand our own professional range because we
see a more diverse group of patients, such as children with chronic
diseases who require specialty care. Our patients who come to
the Caritas Norwood ED benefit from this enhanced expertise.”
In addition, according to Dr. Weinstock, Caritas Norwood emergency
department pediatric patients with severe illness or injury and
general pediatric patients requiring specialty care are transferred
to Children’s Hospital Boston more expeditiously. Pediatricians
treating patients at Caritas Norwood have instant access to Children’s
medical information, and pediatricians at Caritas Norwood participate
in Children’s high-quality care.
“The idea is cross-fertilization,” says Dr. Weinstock. “Being
part of the Children’s network allows us to treat children close
to home and helps us to maintain the highest level of quality
possible, for example, by being able to apply immediately to our
practices the findings from the latest Children’s studies.”
Caritas Norwood Hospital’s emergency department receives nearly
20,000 children annually, representing a third of its emergency
patients. The emergency department has a separate waiting and
play area for children and separate treatment rooms for pediatric
patients where they can be treated in a more comforting and private
environment away from adult emergency patients.
The 264-bed Caritas Norwood Hospital is well known for its emergency,
cardiology, advanced surgical, endoscopic and OB-GYN services.
