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Fletcher Allen Home > Departments & Services > Vermont Children's Hospital > Services |
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Inpatient Pediatric Care
Vermont Children's inpatient pediatrics unit on Baird 5 provides high-quality care for infants, children and adolescents. Our family-centered approach, along with the support of the local community, has created a nurturing environment where our teams of caregivers combine their dedication to children with the latest technology to ensure families receive the best care possible.
The majority of rooms on Baird 5 are private, providing beds for 31 children. A Neonatal Transition Suite helps babies graduating from the intensive care unit and their families prepare for the transition home. In addition, a host of child-focused features help families feel more at ease. A colorful playroom gives kids a place to be kids. A teen room features computers with Internet access, a TV and a video library. A special children's menu and child-friendly meals are available 24 hours a day. There are regular visits from professional athletes, local celebrities, and our four-legged friends from the Therapy Dogs of Vermont.
A wide-range of supportive services are available at Vermont Children's to meet the needs of each family. Those include Child Life, Art from the Heart, Pastoral Care, Patient and Family Services, Psychology, Nutrition Services, Physical Care and Respiratory Therapies.
Families find a comfortable, apartment-like setting on Baird 5 in the Ronald McDonald Family Room - a quiet space where parents can fix a favorite meal, take a shower or do some laundry. Also, a special pediatric resource center is available for parents to learn more about their child's illness.
Newborn Services
Birthing Center & Newborn Nursery
Each year, more than 2,000 babies enter the world at Fletcher Allen and each is considered a unique and special event. Care for these infants is provided in a coordinated effort between the Birthing Center and Vermont Children's.
The Birthing Center offers expert care, advanced technology and a nurturing staff dedicated to supporting each family's personal choices for the birth of their child. Self-contained birthing rooms feature tubs for hydrotherapy with the security of advanced technology close at hand. Families can choose their provider from an obstetrician, family practice physician or certified nurse midwife. These elements make the Birthing Center a warm, supportive, and extremely flexible environment for expecting families.
Newborn babies spend most of their hospital stay with the mother and family, however the Newborn Nursery is always available if families need rest while recuperating from the birthing process.
NICU
Vermont Children's provides family-centered care for critically ill or premature infants in its 20-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The only facility of its type in Vermont, the NICU combines of state-of-the-art technology with a dedicated staff specially trained to administer one of the most delicate forms of care one human can provide for another. The environment supports developmental care with an emphasis on human touch. Our skilled caregivers work closely with families to help them understand and participate in their babies' health care needs.
Neonatal Medical Follow-up Program
This program provides a support system for families who are facing the challenges of caring for an infant with continuing medical needs, following discharge. A program coordinator serves as a hospital liaison to answer parents' questions, coordinate visits to specialists at the hospital and help with the transition from the NICU to the home.
Family Support Services
Caring for a sick child is one of the most trying experiences a family will ever face. That's why Vermont Children's provides a range of support services to help families cope. Our Child Life Specialists help children simply remain children during difficult circumstances by working with families to ensure that, regardless of the severity of a child's illness, there is plenty of evidence of normal life. From age-appropriate activities like bingo and arts and crafts, to important therapeutic activities during and after procedures, the Child Life specialists help families feel more comfortable during their child's recovery.
In addition, hospital volunteers regularly organize support groups for parents of children with cancer and other serious illnesses. These groups provide a safe and compassionate environment in which parents learn from each other and address the challenges before them.
Pediatric Intensive Care
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Vermont Children's Hospital provides highly specialized critical care to children with life-threatening illnesses or injuries. The PICU providers have advanced training in the critical care of children, ranging from infants to young adults. The staff believes that involving the child's family as members of the health care team is vital to the recovery of the child. Also at the disposal of Vermont Children's families is a dedicated pediatric transport service, led by specially trained PICU staff, which is prepared at all times to transfer critical pediatric patients from outlying hospitals.
Emergency Services
The majority of Vermont Children's Emergency Services are provided in Fletcher Allen's full-service emergency department. As the only Level I Trauma Center in Vermont and northern New York, Vermont Children's is ready to treat pediatric patients who suffer from severe trauma. Fletcher Allen's Walk-in Care Center, located on the Fanny Allen Campus in Colchester, and the Northern New England Poison Control Center also make urgent care available to families.
Children's Specialty Services
Our Children's Specialty Center, located in Burlington, offers families centralized and convenient access to pediatric specialists. As a tertiary care center, our specialists treat children with a full-range of medical conditions. Specialists at the Children's Specialty Center and other areas of Vermont Children's where specialty care is provided, focus on treating the child while providing necessary support for the family. This family-centered assistance ranges from participating in family meetings to calling the school nurse to arrange a support system for a child returning to the classroom.
Specialties at Vermont Children's Hospital:
- Birthmarks/Hemangiomas
- Cardiology
- Child Psychopharmacology
- Dermatology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Endocrinology and Diabetes
- Gastroenterology and Nutrition
- Genetics
- Gynecology
- Hematology and Cancer
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Neonatal Medical Follow-up
- Nephrology / Kidney and Urinary Tract Diseases
- Neurology
- Pulmonology / Lung Diseases
- Rheumatology / Arthritis
Vermont Children's holds the distinction of being named the nation's first rural pediatric referral trauma center. Our outstanding surgical staff - where all full-time surgeons are board certified in their subspecialties - the hospital is equipped to perform virtually all pediatric surgery cases, with the exception of open heart surgery. Our surgeons understand that a child's procedure can be a stressful event for a family. To lessen these anxieties, our surgical staff works directly with the child and family on an education program before the surgery to help them better understand the procedure. Our surgical specialists also work closely together and with other doctors throughout the hospital to make sure each child and family receives consistent and appropriate care.
Surgical Specialty Services
Specialty Surgery at Vermont Children's Hospital:
- Anesthesia
- Gynecology
- General Pediatric Surgery
- Maxillofacial Surgery
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Otolaryngology
- Plastic Surgery
- Thoracic Surgery
- Transplantation
- Trauma Surgery
- Urology
Primary Care
Primary care pediatricians have a reputation for excellence throughout Vermont and northern New York. Vermont Children's Hospital's primary care providers are no exception. Two sites, located in Burlington and Williston, offer a full-range of pediatric services, allowing us to foster long-term relationships with patients and their families. At Vermont Children's, we understand that serving our community goes far beyond the high-quality care we deliver in exam rooms. We round out the patient care by offering a variety of parent education programs, participating in the "Reach Out and Read" literacy project and providing school-based health assistance.
Also, as the region's largest pediatric practice, our primary care pediatricians address the health care needs of an increasingly diverse community. This is achieved by partnering with multiple state and federal agencies to help all children have access to coordinated family-centered primary care.
For parents who prefer that their family be seen by the same primary care provider, Vermont Children's has five excellent family practice sites associated with it through Fletcher Allen. Sites are located in South Burlington, Colchester, Milton, Berlin and a Walk-in Care Center on the Fanny Allen Campus.
