November 19, 2009
Hamot to Receive Shriners' Pediatric Inpatient Services
The community’s support for Erie’s Shriners Hospital for Children has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Hamot is proud to be playing a significant role in that support, as Hamot will soon partner with Erie’s Shriners Hospital for Children to provide pediatric inpatient services for Shriners’ patients. According to Hamot Executive Vice President and COO Jim Fiorenzo, this partnership will help to ensure Shriners’ long-term viability of services for local patients and families.
“Hamot is pleased to reach out and form this partnership with Erie’s Shriners Hospital,” Fiorenzo said. “We at Hamot know that Shriners-Erie is a valuable asset to this community, and any part we can play to help ensure that they continue caring for the children in Erie is significant for us.”
The agreement, which is set to be finalized during the second quarter of 2010, means that Shriners-Erie physicians and staff will perform surgical procedures at Hamot, and that Hamot and Shriners-Erie clinical staff will care for these patients. Shriners-Erie patients will be housed in Hamot’s pediatric unit on the sixth floor of the Medical Center. Fiorenzo said that most Shriners-Erie inpatients remain in the hospital for one to three days after surgery.
Hamot and Shriners-Erie will work in cooperation to coordinate pre- and post-op care for each patient.
“We already have state-of-the-art operating rooms and skilled professionals to care for these pediatric patients, so the transition will be seamless,” Chief Quality Officer/Chief Nursing Officer Jim Donnelly said. “Our orthopaedic residents will also be a part of this partnership, as they will now perform inpatient procedures and follow-up on Shriners-Erie patients at Hamot.”
As part of the agreement, Shriners-Erie is also exploring possible partnership opportunities with regional children’s hospitals in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo to bring additional pediatric subspecialty care into the Erie community.
Chuck Walczak, Administrator of the Erie Shriners Hospital, has noted “this is a win-win for everyone, Shriners-Erie, Hamot and most importantly, our patients. This partnership allows Shriners-Erie to focus on becoming a pediatric ambulatory care center, which will permit us to expand our outpatient surgeries, clinics, therapies and other specialty programs.”
Hamot and Shriners-Erie hope that this new partnership will serve as a model for other Shriners Hospitals for Children in the country.
