Hasbro’s “Together Through Transplantation” Program First in Nation
Monday, January 31, 2011
Hasbro Children’s Hospital’s recently introduced Together Through Transplantation program, the first of its kind in the nation, provides pediatric patients and their parent-donors the ability to stay in the same children’s hospital room while recovering from organ transplant surgery. Developed by the Hasbro Children’s Hospital surgeon-in-chief, Thomas Tracy, MD, the program coordinates both adult and pediatric care within the same room and is expected to result in faster recovery times.
First Family Participated in Program, Recovered Together
“What seems to be a very basic accommodation actually requires a great deal of planning, organization and training,” explained Tracy. “A team of 15 to 20 doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and dietitians had to prepare to coordinate both adult and pediatric care simultaneously. Typically, they would either see pediatric patients or adult patients only–never both.” The first of the year saw the first family participate in the program, where parent and child had side-by-side surgeries, then each spent the first two days in their respective intensive care units (ICU). Once they were ready to be moved out of the ICUs, parent and child were moved to a room on the fifth floor of Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where they recovered together over the next few days.
Making a Difference
“The goal of the program is to give families a better hospital experience, which can lead to faster recoveries,” said Paul Morrissey, MD, surgical director of the transplant program at Rhode Island Hospital. “Rather than having mom or dad a quarter-mile away on the adult side, they can stay in the same room as their child, where they can encourage their child and take a more active role in the recovery process.”
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