The Reading Hospital and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children Announce Partnership

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Families in Berks County will have greater access to a broad array of advanced pediatric care as a result of a new partnership agreement announced today between The Reading Hospital and Medical Center and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

As part of the affiliation agreement, StChris Care at The Reading Hospital will open in Suite 3120 in the Hospital’s Doctors Office Building this fall. This ambulatory practice includes pediatric specialists in seven specialty fields: cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, nephrology, general surgery, pulmonary medicine, and orthopaedics. Pediatric subspecialists in gastroenterology, otolaryngology, and oncology are expected to join the West Reading-based practice over the next year.

The new relationship will also enhance the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and pediatric emergency services provided at The Reading Hospital.

According to Scott R. Wolfe, President and Chief Executive Officer at The Reading Hospital, the need to bring pediatric subspecialists into Berks County was the number one priority identified by the Hospital’s 800-member Medical Staff in a recent needs assessment survey.

Bernadette Mangan, CEO of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, says the strategic partnership with The Reading Hospital is furthering St. Christopher’s mission to improve the health and wellbeing of children from around the region and provide them with the high quality compassionate care that is a hallmark of both organizations.

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children is an award-winning pediatric hospital in Philadelphia that provides high-level tertiary and specialty care to children from throughout the area and around the world.

Since 1875, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children has been providing exceptional patient care and advancing new pediatric treatments through research and innovation. Through affiliations with Drexel University College of Medicine and Temple University School of Medicine, St. Christopher’s is a teaching hospital helping to train the next generation of professionals in pediatric medicine.

The 189-bed hospital is committed to delivering high quality family- and patient-centered care to children from throughout the Philadelphia area and around the world. Its highly acclaimed programs include its Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, Level IIIB NICU, Heart Center, Oncology/Transplant as well as its Burn Center, which is the only dedicated pediatric burn center in the area. In 2009, St. Christopher’s achieved Magnet status, which is one of the nation's highest forms of recognition for nursing excellence, and numerous St. Chris physicians were recognized in regional publications as being “Top Docs” in their fields.

Since 1867, The Reading Hospital and Medical Center has provided comprehensive acute care, post-acute rehabilitation, behavioral, and occupational health services to the people of Berks and adjoining counties. It is a regional referral center for cardiac, cancer, neonatology, behavioral health, and orthopaedic services, and is an accredited Trauma Center. The 665-bed main West Reading Campus is joined by more than 20 imaging and laboratory satellite centers, a free-standing surgical center in Wyomissing, and scheduled to open in October, a new 111-bed post-acute hospital in Spring Township.

For decades, The Reading Hospital has provided Graduate Medical Education for residents, and maintains teaching affiliations with Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, Drexel College of Medicine, and Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine. The Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences provides professional training for nurses, radiologic technicians, surgical technicians, paramedics, and individuals pursuing chaplaincy careers.