“When you are treating children with cancer, you must take an integrated, multidisciplinary approach,” said Philip Ozuah, MD, vice chairman for Clinical and Educational Affairs, Department of Pediatrics, Montefiore Medical Center. “While cancer is relatively rare in children, once it has been diagnosed it is imperative that parents have their child treated by a team with all the options immediately at hand.”
“Over the last few decades, outcomes for children with cancer have improved dramatically as a result of integrating various treatment options,” said Gabriel Haddad, MD, chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Montefiore Medical Center. “We now have in place at CHAM a full team of highly specialized pediatric experts who can work together to address all pediatric cancers, their complications and related diseases. This is the absolute “state-of-the-art” when it comes to treating pediatric cancer.”
The appointment of a world-renowned Section Chief, Richard Gorlick, MD, and a team of seven attending physician specialists were the final critical elements in establishing CHAM’s primacy in treating pediatric cancers in the region. A comprehensive Pediatric Sickle Cell Center (the only one of its kind in the region) and a new Stem Cell Transplant Program will open at CHAM in January 2005.
The hospital also has added expertise in treating brain tumors, the second most common cancer affecting children and adolescents.
"I came to Montefiore to lead this team in bringing something new and different to the front lines, and to meet a real clinical and regional need,” said Dr. Gorlick, chief, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Gorlick is a recognized leader in developing therapies for the treatment of osteosarcoma, or cancer of the bone “Our team is the best of the best in every way, from our doctors, nurses, researchers and technicians to the child life specialists and therapists who support a patient’s family as they work through what can be a very difficult time.”
More New Talent Joins CHAM
Since his arrival from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City, Dr. Gorlick has recruited several physicians and nurses with specialized expertise in treating pediatric malignancies. Each new member of the team brings to bear a strong background in academic and laboratory work to help develop the next generation of therapies.
Joining Dr. Gorlick in the new Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at CHAM is E. Anders Kolb, MD (also from MSKCC) as director of Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation and director of Pediatric Leukemia and Lymphoma Care and Adam Levy, MD, a chemotherapy expert recruited to initiate the ambulatory program with the CHAM Day Hospital. Joan O’Hanlon-Curry, CPNP, previously nurse practitioner for the MSKCC Oncology team, also joins the team at CHAM. Heather Lynn-Beribault, CPNP, Michelle McInerney, CPNP, and Monica Bartlett are new nurse practitioners and managers in the outpatient facility and on the dedicated inpatient unit newly constructed on the ninth floor of CHAM.
Taking Chemotherapy from Hospital to Home
Ambulatory chemotherapy for pediatric patients is now being offered at CHAM to help minimize the time a patient needs to be away from the comforts of home and family. “Children with cancer are doing better than ever thanks to stronger chemotherapy drugs,” said Dr. Levy.
“Ambulatory pumps maintain the constant infusion of these powerful drugs along with continued hydration and supportive medications that need to be administered through the night,” said Dr. Levy. “We do everything we can to administer these life-saving drugs as comfortably as possible for our patients. They tell us sleeping in their own beds in familiar surroundings just makes them feel better, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to accomplish.”
"Every specialist on the pediatric hematology/oncology team brings expertise not only for patients but for the parents, too,” said Eva Radel, MD, who has orchestrated pediatric cancer programs at Montefiore for thirty years.
“Our large patient population makes Montefiore a unique institution for exploring a full range of new therapy alternatives and services,” said Dr. Radel.
New resources in Neuro-oncology and Transplantation
The neuro-oncology program is another example of CHAM’s multidisciplinary approach. With the addition of pediatric neurosurgeon Rick Abbott, MD, (from Beth Israel Medical Center) and Shalom Kalnicki, MD, as chair of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore is now the most versatile pediatric neurosurgical unit in the region.
Similarly, the stem cell transplant options provided by Dr. Kolb, newly appointed director of Hematopateic Stem Cell Transplantation, bring a critical new function to the clinical program. “We will offer allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy,” said Dr. Kolb. “These treatments supplement surgery, chemo and radiation to provide new disease management opportunities that help patients feel better and get well.”
Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ranks among the top one percent of all US hospitals based on its investments in medical innovation and cutting-edge technology.
Montefiore invests more in order to enable compassionate, personalized care and the most positive outcomes for patients and their families in New York, the tri-state area and beyond.
Montefiore’s unique combination of ‘state-of-the-art’ technology with ‘state-of-the-heart’ medical and nursing care in a teaching and research environment provides patients with access to world-class medical experts, the newest and most innovative treatments and the best medical center experience anywhere.
This 1,062 bed medical center includes the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, the Jack D. Weiler Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, a large home healthcare agency and a 21-site medical group practice located throughout the Bronx and nearby Westchester.
Montefiore treats all major illnesses and has distinguished centers of excellence in cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery and the surgical subspecialties. Montefiore Medical Center focuses on providing family-centered healthcare in a nurturing environment that extends well beyond hospital and clinic walls.
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