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More About Our Team

Our goal is to care for the whole child and the whole family. During your child’s treatment you may meet and work with:

Anesthesiologists and Pain Specialists

Anesthesiologists treat and reduce pain. Children’s anesthesiologists will provide safe, family-friendly care before, during and after surgery.

As part of your child’s transplant team, our expert pediatric anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists and nurse practitioners will:

  • Discuss the surgery center routine and recovery
  • Give you information on how children fall asleep under anesthesia
  • Oversee your child’s anesthesia and post-surgery pain care

Learn more about our Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine Program.

Cardiologists

Cardiologists treat heart diseases. As members of your child’s transplant team, these doctors will:

  • Help decide if your child needs a heart transplant
  • Provide care after surgery

Chaplain/Pastoral Care

Children’s on-call and hospital chaplains provide spiritual and emotional support. They serve many faiths and traditions. As members of your child’s transplant team, our chaplains can offer your family comfort during the transplant process.

They welcome calls day or night from patients and families. They can help you with:

  • Difficulty coping
  • Feelings of fear, guilt, vulnerability, discouragement, sadness or loneliness
  • Major decisions
  • Meaning or purpose in life
  • Spirituality as a source of strength and meaning for you and your child
  • Spiritual questions

Child Life Specialists

Child Life Specialists work with individual patients and families to help them reduce anxiety and adjust to the hospital experience.

Through the use of age-appropriate activities, they help children and families understand illnesses and medical procedures and develop positive coping skills.

Dietitians

As members of your child’s transplant team, our licensed dietitians will:

  • Help manage your child’s nutrition before and after transplantation
  • Develop a special diet for your child’s medical concerns
  • Track weight gain or loss

Gastroenterolgists/Hepatologists

Gastroenterologists treat diseases of the stomach, intestines and associated organs, including the liver. Hepatologists treat diseases of the liver.

As members of your child’s transplant team, these doctors will:

  • Help decide if your child needs a liver transplant
  • Manage your child’s treatment
  • Help care for your child during and after surgery
  • Help identify and manage transplant rejection
  • Prescribe and manage your child’s drugs

Nephrologists

Nephrologists treat kidney diseases. As members of your child’s transplant team, these doctors will:

  • Help decide if your child needs a kidney transplant
  • Manage your child’s treatment
  • Help care for your child during and after surgery
  • Help identify and manage transplant rejection
  • Prescribe and manage your child’s drugs

Nephrology Fellows

A fellow is a doctor who has finished medical school and a residency and is training to be a specialist. Our nephrology fellows are learning to treat kidney diseases. They will care for your child on day or night shifts during the hospital stay.

As part of your child’s transplant team, these doctors will:

  • Assist the team in your child’s general care
  • Monitor your child’s condition every day during the hospital stay

Pediatric Nursing Staff (inpatient)

Our nurses are a vital resource for families. They are here to answer your questions and advise you and your child.

Our pediatric nursing staff collaborates with transplant doctors to care for your child at Children’s.

Pediatric Surgery Fellows

A fellow is a doctor who has completed medical school and a residency and is training to be a specialist. Our pediatric surgery fellows are learning about pediatric surgery. They will care for your child on day and night shifts during the hospital stay.

As part of your child’s transplant team, these doctors will:

  • Assist the surgeons during your child’s transplantation
  • Monitor your child’s condition every day during the hospital stay

Pharmacists

As members of your child’s transplant team, our pharmacists will:

  • Educate you about your child’s medicines
  • Help your child learn to take medicines correctly
  • Explain side effects your child may experience
  • Monitor your child’s drug therapy while in the hospital

Physical Therapists

Children’s physical therapists will help your child stay as active as possible during her hospital stay. Without physical activity, muscles may become very weak, so our physical therapists work to help your child maintain muscle strength.

Their goal is for your child to be strong enough to do normal activities by the time she goes home.

Primary Care Doctors

In addition to referring their patients for transplant evaluation, primary care doctors continue to manage the overall health care of a transplant patient.

Your primary care doctor’s knowledge of and history with your child makes her an important part of the transplant team.

During the recovery period and beyond, the primary care doctor will:

  • Watch for certain transplant-related complications
  • Perform preventive care and routine care of illnesses
  • Manage other long-term conditions

School Teachers

Our hospital educators are Washington state-certified teachers and available at no cost to patient or family. They work closely with medical teams.

They examine the impact of illness or injury on a patient’s ability to do different types of school activities and assignments.

They provide the following services:

  • Individualized tutorial support
  • Academic assessments
  • Reviews of a patient’s educational records and performance in the school setting
  • Recommendations on how the patient’s school can best meet his or her specific educational needs

Learn more about our School Services.

Social Workers

Our social workers are trained to assist your child and family through the transplant process. As a member of the transplant team, your child’s social worker will:

  • Help you and your child make emotional adjustments during the transplant process
  • Guide you to resources in and around Children’s that will help you plan your hospital stay
  • Help you and your child plan time away from work, school and home
  • Explore and facilitate access to resources in your community

Transplant Nurse Coordinators

Our transplant nurse coordinators are registered nurses who have special training in the care of transplant patients. They will guide you and your child through the transplant process.

The coordinator will:

  • Answer your questions
  • Assist with Transplant Clinic visits
  • Help you and your child understand your child’s drugs
  • Monitor lab values and medication changes

Transplant Nurse Practitioners

Children’s transplant nurse practitioners coordinate care and communication throughout the transplant process, and keep communication open between all team members.

They are the first point of contact for patients, families, referring physicians and team physicians. The nurse practitioners provide continuity between your child’s inpatient and outpatient care.

This includes:

  • Educating families and staff about the transplant process
  • Ordering diagnostic tests and managing medications during your child’s stay in the hospital
  • Keeping your child, family and referring physicians informed about transplant progress
  • Monitoring your child’s health daily during the hospital stay

Transplant Specialists

Our transplant specialists help families through the pre-transplant evaluation and financial aspects of a transplant.

Our staff will:

  • Schedule all pre-transplant evaluation visits
  • Assist in obtaining insurance pre-authorization for transplant surgery
  • Find out what your insurance will and will not cover
  • Help with scheduling and referrals

Transplant Surgeons

Your child’s transplant surgeon will perform the transplant operation. As a member of the transplant team, the transplant surgeon will:

  • Help decide if your child needs a transplant
  • Identify potential surgical problems before surgery
  • Help manage your child’s recovery and wound care immediately after surgery

Urologists

Urologists manage health care problems of the urogenital system. As part of your child’s transplant team, the urologists participate in the transplant evaluation and may be involved in the transplant surgery.

They focus on helping your child regain normal urinary functions.