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Pediatrics Clinical Care & Services

The physicians at the Children's Hospital at Downstate encompass virtually every pediatric medical and surgical sub-specialty. We provide the most sophisticated, state of the art medical care available in Brooklyn for the children who suffer from acute or chronic medical and surgical problems. We are the pediatric faculty of Brooklyn's only medical school. We take pride in our role pediatrics caregivers for all the children of Brooklyn and also as teachers of medical students, supervisors of pediatric trainees and referral resources for our physician colleagues in the community.

Academic General Pediatrics

Adolescent Medicine Clinic

Pediatric Lung, Airway and Asthma Center of Excellence

Pediatric Cardiology

Pediatric Critical Care and Transport

Developmental and Behavioral Clinical Services

Downstart Healthy Lifestyles and  Live Light Live Right Program

Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Pediatric Endocrinology

The Family Adolescent and Children's Experience at SUNY

Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition

The Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT) Program

Pediatric Hematology and Oncology

Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Special Programs

Pediatrics is devoted to care of children from birth through adolescence. We provide primary care for children. We focus on both preventative care and the care of the sick child. Children are seen for regular checkups, camp physicals, sick visits, routine vaccinations and screening tests. WIC forms and blood work for WIC can be requested.

The Adolescent Clinic at SUNY Downstate Medical Center sees 13 to 21 year old girls and boys for a variety of teen issues including family planning, menstrual problems, normal growth and development, emotional and behavioral problems, substance abuse, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases, safety and eating disorders. In addition, the adolescent clinic works closely with other pediatric subspecialty clinics to provide adolescent services to youth with chronic illness and disability.

For further information call 718-270-4714.

The Lung, Airway and Asthma Center at Downstate provides expert specialty care for any conditions that affect healthy breathing (respiration) in children. These conditions include congenital and acquired disorders of the lungs, airways, chest wall and breathing control as well as disorders in other systems that might affect respiration (such as sickle cell disease, immune deficiency, heart and kidney disease, gastrointestinal disease, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, neuromuscular conditions, malformations, trauma, etc).  Patients seen range from those with noisey breathing and snoring to those with severe or recurring pneumonias, shortness of breath, chest pain, easy fatigue with exertion, difficulty with exercise, abnormal chest X-ray findings, infections of the chest, lungs and airways, low blood oxygen levels, etc.   Asthma is a particular challenge that has increased throughout the United States. Although, asthma cannot be cured, it can be controlled with quality health care, the correct medication, and good self-management skills. People with asthma can live normal, healthy, and productive lives.  SUNY Downstate Medical Center created a comprehensive pediatric asthma clinic where patients, their families and the community, can be evaluated, instructed in medication and management and become better educated about asthma triggers. The Pediatric Lung and Asthma Center of Excellence has helped improve the health and quality of life for thousands of children.

For further information call 718-270-4247 or 718-270-4714

Pediatric Cardiology is dedicated to pre-natal and post-natal diagnosis, management and treatment of congenital and acquitted heart disease in infants, children and young adults encompassing all facets of heart disease including invasive testing and open heart surgery.

The pediatric cardiovascular department offers a full range of diagnostic and treatment for heart disease in children, including: innovative diagnostics, digital echocardiography, non-invasive exercise stress laboratory and ECG.

Cardiac catherizations and interventional procedures including standard diagnostic angiography as well as intervention for:

  • Closure of septal heart defects
  • Balloon angioplasty for stenotic valves and vessels
  • Stenting of pulmonary arties and the aorta

It is a multi-disciplinary environment providing specialized state-of-the art care to children with life-threatening medical and surgical conditions. The PICU service attends on all pediatric patients requiring intensive care. We offer young patients outstanding level of critical care staffed by highly trained board certified critical care physicians.

The Division of Child Development at SUNY Downstate provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to caring for children with neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders from infancy to young adulthood. Working in coordination with the Infant Child Learning Center, the division provides initial assessment and ongoing outpatient management, as well as in-patient consultation. The Division also runs the Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Clinic which provides an interdisciplinary team approach to assessment and follow-up of at-risk infants (generally open only to NICU graduates of SUNY Downstate).

For clinic appointments to developmental clinic, call (718) 270-4714.

Obesity and poor nutritional habits are an epidemic in America. Over twenty percent (20%) of our children are overweight. The Department of Pediatrics at SUNY Downstate established a hospital based healthy lifestyles program to encourage families to spend less time being sedentary and more time being active. Children who have a body mass index more than 85% of children of their age and sex are eligible for Downstart. An initial evaluation is made to assess the physical fitness of the child for the program and addresses any relevant medical concerns. Children are also screened by a psychologist for any emotional issues which may impede making lifestyle changes. The program consists of exercise, nutritional education and behavior modification to enable lifestyle changes. The program encourages not only exercise, but also other everyday activities such as walking and using the stairs instead of the elevator. Our support group discusses ways to stay focused on our goals, eating sensibly and becoming more physically active. The exercise sessions are held twice weekly, the nutrition and support group meetings are held once a week.

For more information call 718-270-8211.

The Pediatric Emergency Medicine service provides outstanding emergency carte to ill and injured children, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We pride are selves on offering Brooklyn high quality emergency care. We are a level 1 trauma center and a regional burn unit with highly skilled teams to manage these unique injuries. Our dedicated pediatric emergency room is separate from the adult emergency department. Our patients have access to renowned experts in all areas of pediatric subspecialties and a highly skilled surgical staff.

The division of pediatric endocrinology provides care to children and adolescents with all pediatric endocrinology disorders. These areas include the treatment of growth, thyroid and puberty disorders as well as low bone mass and calcium metabolism. Our diabetes program cares for children with both type I and type II diabetes and offers a comprehensive, individualized and intensive case management.

Program is a New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute-designated Pediatric Center of Excellence. The Program operates as a multidisciplinary pediatric HIV clinic at SUNY Downstate Medical Center that provides exceptional health care to families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn.

The Family Adolescent and Children's Experience at SUNY program provides the following services to its HIV population: primary medical care, case management, mental health services, adolescent support groups, hearing/vision testing, nutritional consultation, treatment adherence counseling, health education, access to clinical trials for pregnant women, children and adolescents, assistance with transportation to medical visits, 24 hour on-call service and consultations and referrals for all other subspecialties.

Hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

The Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition provides complete diagnostic and therapeutic services to children with gastrointestinal, liver, pancreatic and nutritional disorders 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. These include gastrointestinal bleeding, gastroesophageal reflux disease, recurrent abdominal pain, recurrent vomiting, constipation, feeding problems, food allergies, obesity, Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, jaundice, hepatitis, pancreatitis, gallstones, chronic liver disease, and nutritional deficiencies. We also take care of complex specialized patients such as those requiring gastrostomy tubes, central venous nutritional catheters, and those who have undergone liver or intestinal transplantation.

We offer both inpatient and outpatient consultation services at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Kings County Hospital, Long Island College Hospital, and Brookdale Medical Center all here in Brooklyn. We pledge to see emergencies immediately, and new outpatient referrals within one week. We also perform, when needed, a full range of diagnostic procedures including upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, liver biopsy, intraesophageal pH probe, suction rectal biopsies, breath hydrogen studies for lactose intolerance, carbohydrate malabsorption, and bacterial overgrowth. We also are skilled in therapeutic endoscopic procedures to control bleeding, remove polyps, dilate strictures, band varices, and place gastrostomy and gastrojejunostomy tubes. A physician referral is required for all appointments.

For appointments call the subspecialty number, 718-270-4714.

The HEAT Program, located at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC), is the only Brooklyn-based comprehensive care program for HIV-infected and at-risk youth aged 13to 24. Since 1992, HEAT has provided age-appropriate and culturally competent care for heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender minority youth. HEAT provides comprehensive medical, case management, HIV counseling and testing (C/T), mental health care, treatment adherence, outreach, support services and access to research to high-risk and HIV-infected youth. These services are provided on-site at KCHC under a one-stop shopping philosophy where all services are provided in one clinic setting.

The Division of Hematology and Oncology provides treatment for children with a wide range of congenital and acquired blood diseases and cancer. The division offers expertise in the areas of hemophilia, autoimmune thrombocytopenia, thalassemia, sickle cell disease and the childhood leukemias and cancers The clinical program provides state-of-the art comprehensive healthcare.

The Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at SUNY Downstate offers outpatient consultation services for children and adolescents with all types of infectious diseases, covering pathogens ranging from bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites to mycobacteria such as tuberculosis. Diagnostic and therapeutic expertise is provided for infections in all major organ systems, with special interest in unusual or severe infections and children who have infections related to abnormal or weakened immune systems. Additional services include pre-travel consultation, evaluation of travel related infections and immunizations. We also specialize in infections acquired during pregnancy or birth, such as Zika.

For more information or an appointment please call 718-270-7207.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center was designated by the New York State Department of Health as the Regional Perinatal Center for North/North Central Brooklyn. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is dedicated to caring for high risk neonates. Located only a few steps from labor and delivery, the NICU is also a place where critically ill babies can come to recover. The immediacy of having a state-of-the art NICU just down the hall from labor and delivery makes it convenient for families.

We were the first institution in Brooklyn to implement the Statewide Perinatal Data System (SPDS). SPDS provides public health and health care professionals around the state with timely and accurate data about birth outcomes. This system assists hospitals in their quality assurance and quality improvement activities.

For Neonatal ICU or Neonatal Transports call 718-270-2091 or 718-2608.

The Pediatric Nephrology program cares for children with nephrological problems of every degree of severity, including acute and chronic renal failure, acute and chronic hemo- and peritoneal dialysis with their complications, and kidney transplantation, with transplant-related medical issues. We provide the only pediatric kidney transplant service in the Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island region. We perform diagnostic kidney biopsies whenever indicated, and perform central venous catheterizations when needed to provide access for acute hemodialysis. The wide range of diagnoses handled by the Pediatric Nephrology service includes common problems such as hypertension, urinary tract infections, enuresis, hematuria and proteinuria, renal structural and functional abnormalities of the newborn, and complicated problems related to fluid and electrolyte and acid-base management. Our clinical practice at UHB evaluates new and follow-up patients twice a week, and is available at any time to see sick patients on very short notice. In addition, our Division provides outreach to Staten Island and other neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens by providing private office or clinic coverage at St Vincent’s Medical Center (Staten Island), Jamaica Hospital Medical Center (Queens), and Maimonides Medical Center (Brooklyn).

For appointments call the sub-specialty number 718-270-4714.

The Pediatric Pulmonary Function Laboratory at SUNY Downstate Medical Canter performs a variety of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) on pediatric patients. We provide the following tests: Spirometry, before and after bronchodilator, flow-volume loops, single breath diffusing capacity, body plethysmographic lung volumes, pulse oximetry and IOS oscillometry. As a part of the assessment of lung functions in children with obesity, we have a state of the art exercise testing laboratory. In addition, in the assessment of children with obesity, we have the set up for detailed metabolic studies in these children. Testing and interpretation is performed by a licensed pulmonary function technician and interpretation and reporting done by the Medical Director of the Division of Pulmonology.

For further information call 718-270-1524.

An estimated 11 percent of children in the United States have sleep disordered breathing. The SUNY Downstate Sleep Disorders Center evaluates and treats children who suffer from sleep disruptions that may be associated with enlarged tonsils or adenoids, obesity, malformation in the face, or conditions such as Down syndrome or spina bifida and also children with narcolepsy, and insomnia. A child may gasp, choke or stop breathing irregularly during sleep and experience fatigue, excessive sleepiness, irritability, moodiness and morning headaches while awake. The child may have poor memory, difficulty learning and perform poorly in school. When a child or a teen does not get enough sleep, the entire family may be affected by disrupted sleep. The Sleep Center of SUNY Downstate Medical Center brings together a team of pediatric experts- pediatric pulmonologists, neurologists, developmental pediatricians, ear/nose/throat specialists and others - to evaluate the underlying condition causing sleep disturbance and to help the child and family cope with, and often eliminate severe sleep disruptions. The Director of Pediatric Pulmonology will evaluate the children with sleep disordered breathing before the sleep study and discuss the findings and management plan with the patient and parent after the study. Your insurance carrier may require that you first get a referral and a letter of medical necessity from your child's doctor. Also, a doctor's order (prescription) is required for a sleep study.

For more information or an appointment call 718-270-1524.
For the Sleep Disorders Center call 718-252-1117.

Please visit the Sleep Disorders Center web site

Insurance Plans Accepted

The following represents most of the managed care plans accepted by our physicians. If your insurance carrier does not appear here please feel free to speak with the appointment desk to ask if your insurance is accepted. We accept Medicaid and a variety of Medicaid Managed Care plans.

1199

Aetna USHC (HMO)

Aetna USHC (PPO)

Affinity Health Plan

AmeriChoice (MHS) N

Atlantis Health Plan (HM)

Beech Street Corporation

BCE Emergis (UP & UP)

CarePlus Health Plan

CenterCare Health Plan

ChoiceCare Network

CIGNA (NY) Initial

Community Care Partners

Consumer Health Network

Corvel Corporation NY

Devon Health Services

Empire Blue Cross Blue S

Fidelis Care New York

First Health Network

Galaxy Health Network

GHI (PPO, CBP)

Healthcare Partners

Health Plus PHSP

HealthFirst (Private)

Health Net Initial

Heritage New York Medicine

HIP Health Plan of NY

Horizon Healthcare of New York

MagnaCare/MagnaHealth

MetroPlus Health Plan, In

MultiPlan Initial

Neighborhood Health Pro

NY Medicaid (All types)

NY Medicare

Advocacy & Community Outreach

Several new initiatives deserve mention. We completed a series of four CME supported dinner symposia at the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel for Brooklyn pediatricians on topics in gastroenterology, adolescent medicine, developmental pediatrics, and pediatric obesity. Plans for future symposia include pediatric emergency room medicine, endocrinology, nephrology, and infectious diseases. Stay tuned for details to be mailed out at the end of the summer. Notable research grants secured by investigators in the department include NIH funded grants in lipid biology and steatohepatitis, microvascular circulation and necrotizing enterocolitis, cellular biology and cancer, and grants supporting AIDS vaccine development.

The Department of Pediatrics is also reaching out to expand our programs in partnership with other institutions. In addition to the excellent general pediatric faculty at Kings County Hospital, all of whom have appointments in our Department, we also are developing partnerships in clinical care and resident and fellow education with local affiliates including Coney Island Hospital and Maimonides Medical Center.   Our sub-specialty expertise is also exported to other area institutions including subspecialty faculty delivering clinical services and education at Coney Island Hospital, Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island and The Brooklyn Hospital.

Other community outreach initiatives established with the Department of Pediatrics include:

  • Violence Prevention Conference established with the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
  • KAVI - Kings Against Violence Initiative youth outreach
  • Legit - a program for delinquent youth in Brooklyn
  • Social Community Pediatrics Initiatives - Outreach at Holy Cross RC Church and Family Head Start. The program promotes healthy lifestyles through activities with all members of the church and head start community.
  • Breast Feeding Support Group
  • Family Health Challenge
  • New York State AAP Pediatric Advocacy Day - meetings with legislators at the State Capital in Albany, NY
  • Child Abuse Task Force with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.
  • Support Group for Mothers of New Babies
  • Reach Out and Read - A nationwide literacy initiative. Children seen for well childcare visits receive an appropriate book from their physician to encourage the habit of reading at an early age.

Directions

By Automobile from Manhattan:

Manhattan Bridge: exit onto Flatbush Ave. Continue approximately three and one-half miles to Parkside Ave. Turn left onto Park side Ave. and travel four blocks to New York Ave. Turn right at New York Ave. and continue two blocks to Lenox Rd. Proceed down Lenox Rd to blue awning at 445 Lenox Rd.

Brooklyn Bridge: stay to the left at the end of the bridge. Follow the ramp to Boerum Place, which becomes Adams Street. Continue along Adams St. to Atlantic Ave. Turn left on Atlantic and continue to Flatbush Ave. Turn right onto Flatbush Ave. and continue approximately two and one half blocks to Parkside Ave. Turn right at New York Ave. and continue two blocks to Lenox Rd. Proceed down Lenox Rd to blue awning at 445 Lenox Rd.

By Subway:

IRT Flatbush Line (#2 Seventh Ave) train to Winthrop Street Station. Walk two blocks south on Nostrand to Lenox Rd. Proceed to 445 Lenox Rd.

 

Health Updates

Pediatric Neurology Genetic Disorders
Pediatric Neurology Epilepsy
Pediatric Neurology Brain Tumor
Pediatric Constipation Diagnosis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lifestyle Changes
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Follow Up Tests
Infantile Dyschezia Prevention
Infantile Dyschezia Diagnosis
Infantile Dyschezia Causes
Infant Reflux Treatment
Infant Reflux Causes
Gastroenteritis Treatment
Gastroenteritis Diagnosis