Miami Children’s, Golisano Children’s Align Protocols, Plan for Telehealth

Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, Ft. Myers, and Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH) have formed a new clinical affiliation aimed at optimizing care for severely sick or injured children in Southwest Florida. The organizations say the goal is to help keep children and their families as close to home as possible without compromising care quality.

The hospitals have developed a streamlined process so that children requiring advanced care at Miami Children’s are transported to Miami Children’s LifeFlight critical care transport team, which includes ground and air transport, staffed by pediatric critical care experts.

Both hospitals will follow many of the same protocols moving forward so tests are not replicated and children can return to Golisano Children’s Hospital once they are in stable condition.

Pediatric subspecialists at Golisano Children’s Hospital will also have access to MCH subspecialists, such as hematologist/oncologists, cardiologists and neurologists, for an advanced level of collaborative patient care. The children’s hospitals are working on incorporating telehealth into the subspecialty consultations and a new mobile robot has been purchased by Golisano Children’s Hospital to support telemedicine services in the future. Pediatric neurosurgeons from Miami Children’s Hospital have already joined the Golisano medical staff and a phone line has been established specifically to access the on-call neurosurgeon in Miami on a 24/7 basis.