By: Elizabeth Landry
Since the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital first opened its doors in 2009, the hospital has grown and evolved significantly while remaining true to its founding mission of providing safe, effective, innovative and family centered care for children across the Central New York region. Now celebrating its 15-year anniversary, the children’s hospital has become a 71-bed pediatric healthcare hub serving children in 22 counties that span North to the Canadian border and South to the Pennsylvania border. Under the leadership of Gregory Conners, MD, MPH, MBA, Professor and Chair of Pediatrics and Executive Director of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, who joined the hospital in 2019, the organization is a pillar of Central New York healthcare and has had a strong positive effect on the community.
“It’s the people in the community who really helped us get started,” said Conners. “I frequently meet people whose kids or grandkids, nephews or nieces have been treated here over the past 15 years. I really think people don’t take us for granted because many can remember a time when there wasn’t a children’s hospital here and they notice we have a better community because of the excellent care we provide for the children.”
The children’s hospital has produced significant research that has made an impact on strategies for treating pediatric patients, including research on Covid prevention and vaccination and the prevention of RSV infection. Both research and community improvement are keystones of the robust pediatric residency program, during which the intern year also includes skills in advocacy and global health.
Conners expressed how proud the team is of the program, saying, “We work hard to give our trainees great experiences. We all put a lot of time and energy to make the program the very best it can be.”
Well-Rounded Pediatric Care Through Extensive Subspecialties
To provide children with comprehensive healthcare, the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital offers services from a long list of subspecialties. These include experts in pediatric hospital medicine, pediatric cardiology, children’s infectious diseases, rheumatologic conditions, pediatric nephrology, pediatric urology, gastroenterology and nutrition, and many more. Importantly, healthcare providers from the different pediatric subspecialties often function as one holistic pediatric team rather than separate departments.
“Many children need two or three different medical providers at once. We often have multiple physicians from different specialties collaboratively caring for the same child. It’s the whole team of specialty physicians, nurses and other health professionals who work together that makes the children’s hospital so special,” emphasized Conners.
An important distinction the children’s hospital holds is serving as the region’s only ACS verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma and Burn Center, which is, in fact, one of only eight such trauma centers in the state. The Trauma Center provides around the-clock care for children critically injured by such mechanisms as falls, motor vehicle accidents, bicycle crashes and physical abuse. The summer of 2024 saw a record number of pediatric trauma activations.
Kim Wallenstein, MD, PhD, Pediatric Trauma Medical Director, emphasized the importance of the care her team provides and highlighted the impact of preventing injuries before they
happen. “We have a top-notch trauma team in place to provide care whenever it is needed. Additionally, we strive to raise awareness of injury prevention strategies, so children avoid traumatic injuries in the first place,” she said.
The Upstate Trauma Center is staffed by fellowship-trained pediatric surgeons, who also see a wide variety of surgical patients at the hospital’s Center for Children’s Surgery.
“All types of surgery for children should be done by someone with a focus on pediatrics,” noted Tamer Ahmed, MD, Division Chief of Pediatric Surgery.
“Our entire infrastructure as part of a children’s hospital is set up to care for pediatric patients from birth into their teens, and the unique needs of each age. This includes working with pediatric subspecialists, pediatric nursing, child life and others. From evaluation to treatment to follow up care our entire children’s hospital is focused on caring for children and their families, whether they are one day old or 17 years old.”
Inpatient and Outpatient Pediatric Services
In addition to the hundreds of children treated on the inpatient floor of the children’s hospital, Upstate University Hospital also has an extensive network of pediatric outpatient services. Upstate is the only institution in
Central New York to offer comprehensive pediatric services for children diagnosed with cancer or blood disorders including leukemia, brain tumors, solid tumors, benign blood disorders (anemia and thalassemia, among others), sickle cell anemia and hemophilia. Children needing these services are cared for at the hospital’s Waters Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders, and patients have immediate access to inpatient services at the Golisano Children’s Hospital as needed. The team at the Waters Center also focuses on research trials and studies aimed at advancing how childhood cancer is cured. Melanie Comito, MD, Director of Children’s Cancer and Division Chief of the Waters Center, explained the importance of devoting time to research studies.
“As members of the International Children’s Oncology Group, a wide-ranging network of pediatric oncology providers, we’re able to actively participate in the advancement of childhood cancer treatment. Each pediatric cancer center doesn’t see many patients of the same type of cancer, so we work together across the country to study new drugs and treatment strategies. Childhood cancer and hematology treatment keeps advancing, and there have been many improvements over the years,” Comito said.
Comito also highlighted the importance of survivorship at the Waters Center, which includes the Survivor Wellness Program to help children prepare for life as adults, assisting them with their health care needs and how to handle their complicated medical histories.
“My passion is watching the children grow up and getting back to their lives again,” stated Comito. “Survivorship is important because we’re monitoring any delayed effects of drugs and treatments and we’re also trying to teach them good habits like nutrition and exercise, taking care of their mental health, and helping them understand that it’s OK to feel different from their peers. We hope that by the time they are late adolescents or young adults they know how to advocate for their adult healthcare. We’ll always remain a resource for them.”
Comprehensive Support Through Child Life
Another major service supporting pediatric patients is the Child Life department led by Regina Lozito, Director of Child Life. The department grew from a team of three to a team of 18, who help children and their families cope with medical experiences. Child Life Specialists offer support in the inpatient setting of the children’s hospital and in many Upstate clinical areas.
“We work very closely with the medical staff to make sure children can tolerate what we’re asking them to do” said Lozito. “For example, if a child needs an MRI or a CT scan, we help assess if they can undergo the procedure without anesthesia, which helps lower their risk, and we use age-appropriate strategies to help them understand what will happen so they can get through the experience as easily as possible.”
Much of the Child Life Department’s work involves helping children use coping strategies such as play, art and music therapy, as well as gaming and tech, but another side of the work involves legacy building when end of life care is needed, whether for a child or for a child’s caregiver. Jewelry made using fingerprints or handprints after a loved one passes away, and heartbeat recordings placed into stuffed animals are some of the ways the Child Life department provides support in difficult situations.
No matter the specific application, the Child Life department makes an impact on children that lasts into adulthood. “We’re teaching them coping skills they can use in any situation, such as at school and eventually as adults,” said Lozito. “They can teach other kids strategies like deep breathing, counting and squeezing a stress ball–generally learning how to deal with really difficult situations in a positive manner.”
The department also will soon have a facility dog, who will be highly trained to be an extension of the Child Life staff. “We’re really excited about this new program because research shows animals help bring down blood pressure and make people less anxious,” Lozito explained.
Community Connections and Continued Expansion
As the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital grows and expands, one aim is to continue cultivating meaningful connections in the community. Kali Kearns, MHA, Administrator for the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, recently joined the hospital’s leadership team to focus on strategic planning, growth and expansion, and community relationships and partnerships.
The children’s hospital partners with the Upstate New York Safe Kids Coalition, which uses advocacy, education and preventative strategies to reduce the incidence of injuries in children in the community. Kearns emphasized plans for developing further ties in the community as well as ways the hospital aims to increase service offerings.
“We are excited to develop new partnerships so we can continue to provide important preventative services in the community,” said Kearns. “With Micron coming to the area, we need to think about the potential influx of pediatric patients and make sure we can continue to meet patient needs in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. We really put the patient and their family at the center of everything we do, and our aim is to continue to provide the best experience possible.”
Conners also echoed the sentiment that patients and their families are at the heart of the hospital’s strategies for continued expansion into the next 15 years and beyond.
“When I first came to the hospital, I immediately liked the culture, the collaborative nature of the team and the mission that we have of caring for the children in our community,” explained Conners. “I’m looking forward to continuing our growth and being able to care for more and more children and families over time. We’re not growing the organization and increasing our connection to the community because we want to be the biggest, but because we truly want to serve as many kids as we can.”
