Inpatient Care
Newborn Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Pediatric hospitalists provide general pediatric care for patients needing hospitalization and whose primary pediatricians do not admit patients to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. We remain in contact with a patient's primary pediatrician to ensure we are providing the best care for each child.
We provide care to patients in:
- The medical/surgical units on the 3rd floor of Packard Children’s Hospital
- The Packard at El Camino Hospital (PEC) unit
Our Mission Statement
To serve our patients with compassionate, family-centered and evidence-based care. We are committed to close collaboration with patients, families and physician colleagues, and a scholarly approach to:
- Providing outstanding inpatient clinical care
- Educating future physician-leaders in pediatrics
- Leading the improvement of inpatient safety, quality and efficiency
Working Together with Subspecialists
Though we are responsible for a child’s general care, we also work closely with pediatric subspecialists. We:
- Collaborate with pediatric subspecialists as needed to diagnose and manage illnesses
- Consult on patients of pediatric subspecialists who request our assistance in managing general pediatric aspects of disease. We also provide guidance for minimal to moderate sedation.
- Assist in general pediatric care for intermediate intensive care unit (IICU) patients under the care of the neurosurgery, ENT, orthopedic surgery or plastic surgery teams
- Are members of the Rapid Response Team, a highly specialized critical care team of physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists. The team works 24 hours a day to proactively evaluate patients whose symptoms suggest the possibility that a patient may go into cardiopulmonary or respiratory arrest and require medical intervention to help breathing.
- Are members of the code team and respond to major pediatric traumas.
- Cover the Stem Cell Transplant unit at night.
Education of Medical Students and Pediatric Residents
The pediatric hospital medicine team is very involved with medical education on didactic and practical levels, as well as in an advisory role. We closely supervise medical trainees in general pediatric inpatient medicine. Medical students and residents learn how to approach inpatient pediatric medicine and work with children and their families as they apply evidence-based management strategies for a wide range of inpatient general pediatric diagnoses. We also model how to provide family-centered care and work within a multidisciplinary team (which includes nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, child life specialists, and the patient’s primary care physician) to provide our patients with outstanding comprehensive care. In addition, we are involved in scholarly activities and research.
Education of Nurses and Ancillary Staff
Our division is invested in providing regular in-service trainings for nurses and respiratory therapists on topics relevant to the care of the hospitalized pediatric patient.
Service to the Hospital
We are involved in various hospital committees to improve patient safety, education and leadership.
Some examples of recent projects include assisting with compliance of Joint Commission pediatric asthma measures, leading IT projects, improving handoffs and communication among caregivers, and being facilitators of the discharge coordination process. We also work to develop patient care guidelines that help us provide consistent, reproducible, safe care for our young patients. Specific activities and interests can be viewed on individual faculty profiles.
Our Team
Physicians on the pediatric hospitalist team are general pediatricians who have all completed a three-year residency in pediatrics. We are all board-certified in general pediatrics.
- Joe Kim
- Becky Blankenburg
- Shilpa Patel
- Mehran Mosley
- Dan Imler
- Courtney Hallum
- Anna Lin
- Lauren Destino
- Chris Longhurst
- Paul Sharek
- Noelle Johnstone
- Sangeeta Schroeder
- Lisa Humphrey
- Debbie Sakai
- Nicole Marsico
