St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands ‐ The Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital (JFLH) and the Miami Children’s Hospital formalized an affiliation between both hospitals on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. The affiliation provides access to pediatric care services for the children of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands.
Through an innovative combination of inpatient “tele-medicine” and “on-the-ground” outpatient consultation services, subspecialty physicians from Miami Children’s Hospital will work with local pediatricians and nurses to care for children at JFLH. Half of the thirty (30) inpatient pediatric transfers from JFLH go to Miami Children’s Hospital and a significant number are transferred for neonatal care. Further, countless outpatient referrals are also made from St. Croix pediatricians to the Miami tertiary care facility.
Jeff A. Nelson, Chief Executive Officer states “The reality is the social and economic toll of travelling to Miami on an extended or regular basis can cause significant hardship to families. Some children, whose families cannot afford to travel off-island, go without the care altogether. This affiliation will help to significantly alleviate some of these burdens.”
Currently, Miami Children’s Hospital has similar affiliations with rural and community hospitals in Florida as well as other hospitals internationally. In addition to providing direct care, these affiliations facilitate the delivery of “tele-health” service for nurses and physicians. Tele-health is the provision of educational and training programs via broad band and teleconferencing technology solutions. Nurses and pediatricians at JFLH can be trained the latest advancements in pediatric care by the Miami Children’s Hospital faculty without travelling to conferences by utilizing teleconferencing technology already available at the Virgin Islands Cardiac Center’s Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation Conference Center. Not only will this agreement enhance the level of pediatric care delivered locally, but it will also enhance the efficiency of care for those patients still requiring transfer to Miami Children’s Hospital.
About Miami Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Miami Children's Hospital® is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with several specialty programs ranked among the best in the nation in 2008, 2009 and 2010 by U.S.News & World Report. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor.