Blythedale Children's Hospital offers a depth of medical expertise and experience rivaled by few. Our medical staff includes pediatric specialists and sub-specialists who also serve on the faculties of almost every major teaching hospital in the New York metropolitan area.
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Jessica Materasso, Medical Staff Assistant
We are committed to ensuring every child at Blythedale Children’s Hospital receives compassionate, high-quality care from our dedicated team of physicians and nurse practitioners. Our physician team provides expert care onsite 24/7 to medically fragile children with complex illnesses or injuries. During your child’s stay, our multidisciplinary treatment team will keep you and your child’s referring physician updated every step of the way.
Because every child’s abilities and medical needs are unique, our focus on pediatric complex care medicine allows us to provide advanced care in an environment of hope. We manage the intricate needs of infants, children and adolescents with compassion to support progress and independence. Our physicians and nurse practitioners work closely with every child’s care team to optimize function with the ultimate goal of transitioning the child home and training their parents to become confident caregivers.
Dedicated pediatricians and pediatric hospitalists provide intensive medical care while the child is in the hospital, coordinate the services of the other subspecialties, and supervise the discharge planning process. Family and pediatric nurse practitioners are assigned to the Hospital’s units, as well as to various other programs that are part of our clinical service lines.
Working in a multi-disciplinary team with nurses, therapists and social workers, Blythedale physicians help create patient care plans, individualized to each patient’s and family’s needs. Parents and families are integral members of the Blythedale team and are encouraged to become deeply involved in their child’s care plan.
Pediatric care is available for a wide range of subspecialties. Some of our subspecialty coverage is provided by clinical partnerships with major medical centers in the area, including New York Presbyterian (Columbia and Cornell), Montefiore Medical Center (Albert Einstein), Mount Sinai Medical Center, Westchester Medical Center (New York Medical College) and Yale New Haven Hospital (Yale School of Medicine).
Pediatric subspecialty care available to inpatients, Day Hospital patients, and residents of The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Pediatric Long Term Care Pavilion include:
Neonatology
Pulmonology
Neurology/Neuropsychology
Psychiatry/Psychology
Physiatry & Rehabilitation Medicine
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)
Infectious Disease
Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
With the only dedicated post-acute pediatric brain injury unit in New York State - specifically constructed to treat children and adolescents with brain injuries - and our expertly trained clinical team, Blythedale is uniquely positioned to provide the best environment for recovery.
As technology continues to advance, children with special needs are becoming increasingly more integrated into the world around them. Blythedale's comprehensive Assistive Technology program, one of only a few such programs in New York State, is opening doors for these children.
Blythedale is the only specialty children’s hospital in New York State with the capability of providing the highest level of medical care and rehabilitation for children recovering from complex medical conditions, including childhood cancers.
Blythedale’s commitment to the highest level of medical and rehabilitative care, and ongoing integration of the newest cardiac support technologies for medically fragile children, is evident in our Cardiac Rehabilitation program.
As an expert in helping medically fragile children achieve their highest potential, Blythedale is well-suited to help transition a child with multiple complex chronic conditions from hospital to home.
Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
For children recovering from multiple traumatic injuries, extensive orthopedic surgery or complex surgery, Blythedale offers a highly specialized, integrated approach to care.
Complex Wound and Burn Management
Blythedale is a center of excellence in treating children with complex burns and wounds. The goal of the complex wound rehabilitation team is to obtain maximum autonomy and functionality while maintaining the optimal integrity of the healing wound or grafts with scar control.
Blythedale is widely recognized as a leader in treating children with rare conditions, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular disorders including muscular dystrophy and other myopathies, neuropathies, motor neuron diseases and neuromuscular junction disorders as well as complex genetic syndromes.
Blythedale has a commitment to achieving the best outcomes for infants coming for intensive rehabilitation following Neonatal Intensive Care stays. With a staff of full-time neonatologists overseeing the care our infants, and the addition of neonatal fellows, Blythedale continues to push the boundaries of what post-acute neonatal care can provide to medically fragile infants.
Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
At Blythedale Children’s Hospital, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, pediatric attending staff supports infants, children and adolescents prior to and following complicated transplant procedures including heart, liver, kidney, bowel, and even multi-organ transplants.
Pulmonary hypertension is relatively rare, occurring in only two children per one million. Despite its low occurrence, Blythedale treated 30 children with pulmonary hypertension last year.
Blythedale’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation program is widely recognized as a national center of excellence due to the Hospital’s extraordinary success weaning fragile infants and children from respiratory support machines for an improved quality of life. Our parent training programs help ensure that caregivers are both confident and competent in caring for their child.
As the only pediatric specialty hospital in New York State, Blythedale Children’s Hospital has the ability to evaluate and treat complex feeding difficulties in children with a team of pediatric specialists who work exclusively with medically fragile children.
John's Brave Journey Back from Brain Injury
Two days after the start of third grade, John was at home playing video games with his dad. He suddenly screamed, “I can’t see!” and then began vomiting and went unconscious. The eight-year-old was rushed to an emergency room in Staten Island where a CT scan showed bleeding in his brain from a...
Brandon is an 11-year-old who lets nothing slow him down - not even a heart transplant. He was born with multiple congenital heart defects, including heterotaxy, a rare condition which is characterized by septal defects and valve disorders, and an inability to productively return blood from the...
Bringing your child home is no small feat when they're medically fragile. No family ever thinks they will be in the position of caring for a child with complex medical needs, but Blythedale’s innovative Parent and Family Education Program divides what initially seems like an overwhelming learning...
Visiting Blythedale is the best way to learn more about our programs and services. We are here to help you find the answers to your questions.
At Blythedale we understand the value of balancing work and family. Our employees have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally while making a meaningful contribution to improve the lives of children.
