Frank Lewis

PDT Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Medical Center will be partnering with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to bring additional resources and care to pediatric and neonatal patients.

“We consider it our responsibility to make sure our community has access to the best care possible, and this new affiliation will help us do just that,” Randy Arnett, president and CEO of SOMC, said. “By combining the resources and expertise of Nationwide Children’s Hospital with that of our current pediatricians, we can bring our patients a higher level of pediatric care and service.”

As part of the affiliation, SOMC will be able to directly consult with specialists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. SOMC’s medical staff will also benefit from training and mentoring programs as well as state-of-the-art pediatric research and clinical trials, Arnett said.

“Together, SOMC and Nationwide Children’s Hospital will build upon the tremendous care already provided by our current pediatricians,” Arnett said. “They will be able to provide even greater care by taking advantage of Nationwide Children’s telemedicine services and pediatric and neonatology expertise.

Arnett said the hospitals will also be able to work together to place graduating residents from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in southern Ohio, which he said will directly impact the quality of care available at SOMC.

“We are looking forward to our formal collaboration with Southern Ohio Medical Center,” Gil Peri, vice president of Regional Development at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said. “We will bring our pediatric expertise to the community working closely with local pediatricians to enhance care in the Portsmouth and surrounding communities. Together we can improve the health of the neonatal and pediatric community we serve.”

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is ranked seventh of out of only 12 children’s hospitals on U.S.News & World Report’s 2012-13 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll,” and is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children, and adolescents, as well as adult patients with congenital disease.

In June 2012, the hospital celebrated completion of the largest pediatric expansion construction project in United States history, adding 2.1 million square feet of clinical, research and support facilities to total 5.3 million square feet on its main campus.

Peri said A medical staff of 1,100 and 8,300 employees provide state-of-the-art pediatric care for nearly one million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists.

Peri said the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded freestanding pediatric research facilities.

“Nationwide Children’s remains true to the original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a family’s ability to pay,” she said.

More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.

Frank Lewis may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 252, or at flewis@civitasmedia.com