Related Centers, Divisions and Programs
Adolescent Medicine
The Division of Adolescent Medicine was established in 1991, when Dr. Janice Key joined the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at MUSC. Since that time, the division has grown to include an active teaching clinic in Rutledge Tower with 1,500 patient visits/yr, a school-based clinic two mornings/wk at Burke High School (< 1 mile from the MUSC campus), and a research program with two current pregnancy prevention projects, both located in Charleston County School District schools. In addition, the division conducts a clinic at the nearby College of Charleston, with approximately 1,200 patient visits/yr, serving a mainly middle- to upper-income non-Hispanic white population, and has recently opened a clinic in Hollywood, SC, a rural township about 20 miles from the university, serving a lower income, non-Hispanic black population.
Airway and Aspiration Center for Children
The Airway and Aspiration Center for Children provides the public and the medical community with world class, comprehensive, compassionate, high profile medical care for children and well-rounded, multidisciplinary education for parents. In addition to providing exemplary patient care, the Airway and Aspiration Center for Children generates new treatment algorithms, educational experiences, and collaborative research opportunities at the MUSC Children’s Hospital. The Center coordinates subspecialty care for children with airway and swallowing problems to allow comprehensive patient care during a single visit. The core specialties of the Center consist of: Pediatric Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Pediatric Pulmonology, Pediatric Gastroenterology, and Pediatric Speech and Language Pathology. The Center utilizes the combined resources already available through the clinical practices of each core specialty including state of the art digital recording equipment; flexible and rigid laryngoscopes, bronchoscopes, and esophagoscopes; a videostroboscopy suite; and facilities and equipment for various swallow studies.
Cardiology
Pediatric cardiology specialists at the MUSC Children’s Hospital offer comprehensive inpatient and outpatient treatment and follow-up services for a full range of pediatric cardiovascular disorders. They provide the special expertise for the Children’s Heart Program of South Carolina, which delivers coordinated cardiac care to all children in the state with congenital or acquired heart disease via a network of pediatric cardiologists and outreach clinics throughout the state. In addition to the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at MUSC Children’s Hospital in Charleston, pediatric cardiology practices are located in Columbia, Greenville, and Florence, SC. Outreach clinics are currently conducted in Anderson, Beaufort, Greenwood, Lancaster, Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg, and Sumter, SC.
Community Outreach & Research
The Caring Connection offers support for parents and families in the tri-county area who have children with physical, developmental, or emotional conditions. This program provides information, a newsletter, Peer Parent Support program, share-groups with speakers, telephone support, Mom’s Night Out, family bowling, a holiday social, and forum, networking and volunteer opportunities. The Caring Connection is supported by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Children’s Rehabilitative Services (CRS), and the MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund.
The Parent Training and Resource Center features a free lending library containing more than 800 titles. Resources also include a quarterly newsletter (The Coalition), an annual disabilities conference, parent training workshops, and a peer-parent mentor program that partners parents with trained mentors to assist in special education services. This program, which is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is a partnership between the Advocacy Coalition for People with Disabilities and the MUSC Division of Genetics and Developmental Pediatrics.
The South Carolina Birth Defect Surveillance and Prevention Program is a statewide project to identify pregnancies affected by specific types of birth defects. The aim is to gather detailed information on pregnancies complicated by structural birth defects, enroll mothers of these pregnancies into a primary prevention program, and evaluate the effectiveness of the prevention protocol(s).
Health-Related Outcomes in Epilepsy is a collaborative effort with the MUSC Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Epidemiology that is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study examines health-outcomes, including quality of life, social support, stigma, and depressive symptoms in children and adults with epilepsy.
Health Education for Lupus Patients (HELP) is a collaborative effort among MUSC, Duke University School of Medicine, and Emory University School of Medicine. The study involves cognitive behavioral interventions designed to improve the adjustment and quality of life in adolescent African American females with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Cognitive Aspects of Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease is an ongoing investigation examining the relationship between neurocognitive functions and other indices of disease progression, including brain imaging and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease. Efforts are currently underway to study the effectiveness of stimulant medication for the treatment of attention problems in this population.
Cystic Fibrosis Center
The Cystic Fibrosis Center offers tertiary care and ongoing surveillance for children from birth to age 18. The cystic fibrosis team includes representatives from the fields of gastroenterology, general pediatrics, nutrition, psychology, social work, pharmacology, and respiratory therapy. The clinic emphasizes outpatient care and maintenance of good health by thorough attention to the respiratory tract, nutrition, and patient education. When needed, sophisticated inpatient care is available, including transplantation. This clinic is recognized and supported as a cystic fibrosis center by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. MUSC has a corresponding adult program for patients older than 18 years.
Epidemiology and Health Systems Research
The Division of Pediatric Epidemiology conducts population-based research on children’s health issues, collaborating with faculty in clinical research, and providing an infrastructure and shared resources for database management and statistical analyses. The division is committed to improving the health of families and children, sustaining an academic environment that encourages teaching and research, and working collaboratively with other members of the health care team. This group is involved with many other departments at MUSC, local community services, state agencies and institutions, and national and international investigators in addressing issues of maternal and child health. The division currently oversees an integrated patient information system that includes the: Perinatal Information System (PINS), Pediatric Transport Information System (MEDUCARE), and Newborn Developmental High Risk Follow-up Clinic Data System (FOLLOWUP). The data contained in these systems encompass the events and clinical experiences of maternal and child outcomes from the onset of pregnancy until discharge from developmental pediatrics care. In addition, the network services in the division serve as a repository for multiple hospital, local, state, and national datasets, such as the MUSC hospital data system (KEANE), ancillary MUSC data systems (SMS, Oversite, Practice Partner), SC vital records and SC hospital discharge records, and US vital records, outpatient, inpatient and emergency room data. The objective is to provide the quality data needed to support physicians, researchers, students and administrators in endeavors surrounding health care status and program evaluation. The quantitative and qualitative collection, analysis, and use of data are critical for effective problem-solving and evaluation of outcomes and effectiveness in health care.
Genetics and Developmental Pediatrics
The Vince Moseley Developmental Evaluation Center provides a complete network of resources for children with developmental, behavioral, learning problems, or genetic disorders. Since its inception in 1966, the center has functioned as a diagnostic, evaluation, and treatment facility, involved in extending the limits and boundaries that frequently surround children with disabilities. Because the center is part of the MUSC Children’s Hospital, children and their families have access to a level care found only at an academic medical center, including advanced knowledge and novel approaches in the fields of genetics, diagnostics, developmental pediatrics, pediatric psychology, child psychiatry, physical therapy, and assistive technology. A full range of educational and support services is offered, such as special programs for parents of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to a full library of topics for special needs families.
The Carolina Autism Resource and Evaluation (CARE) Clinic offers a multidisciplinary team approach to diagnosing autistic spectrum disorders. The team includes psychologists, educational specialists, developmental pediatricians, speech/language pathologists, and occupational therapists.
The Developmental and Behavioral Evaluation Clinic assesses children from age 4 to 18 years old who have a combination of severe developmental, learning, emotional, or behavioral difficulties.
The Genetics Clinic incorporates a review of medical/family history, diagnostic physical examination, appropriate genetic laboratory services, genetic counseling, and referrals for subspecialty evaluation, when indicated. MUSC genetics specialists help children, families, and adults faced with hereditary and genetic factors that cause disease, defects, or potential health issues, such as birth defects, Down syndrome, autism, spina bifida, and hereditary family cancer.
The Pediatric Psychology Service, staffed by clinical psychologists, school psychologists, and psychoeducational specialists, provides a variety of comprehensive psychological services for children and adolescents in an effort to provide accurate differential diagnosis and specific recommendations for educational and/or treatment planning. A number of specialty clinics address the specific needs of children with various medical and psychological conditions.
The Behavioral Consultation Clinicprovides skills training for children in the context of group therapy and consultation focused on behavior management in families.
The Neuropsychology Assessment Clinic provides in-depth evaluation of the range of thinking abilities for children with complex developmental or medical conditions.
The Preschool Evaluation Clinic provides evaluation of children under the age of 6 with suspected learning or behavioral difficulties.
Hematology/Oncology
Hematology/oncology physicians and staff focus on treatment of infants, children and adolescents with cancer, blood disorders, or malignancies. These activities include diagnosis and treatment of red blood cell and hemoglobin abnormalities, sickle cell disease (see below), hemostatic disorders, leukocyte disorders, and childhood and adolescent cancers. The hematology/oncology team has expertise in bone marrow transplantation, human cord blood cells, and preclinical pharmacology.
Hemophilia Clinic
The Hemophilia Clinic provides tertiary care services to children with hemophilia. During comprehensive clinics, children are evaluated by a hematologist, nurse coordinator, social worker, dentist, orthpaedic surgeon, physical therapist, genetic counseling team, and hematology/oncology clinic nurses to develop and maintain a multidisciplinary plan of care for each child. Follow-up appointments are made as needed in the Hematology Clinic,
Sickle Cell Program
The Pediatric Sickle Cell Program offers comprehensive services to patients diagnosed with a hemoglobinopathy. The sickle cell team consists of a pediatrician specializing in sickle cell disease, pediatric hematologist, nurse coordinator, nurse community case manager, social workers, psychologist, nutritionist, and representatives from other disciplines as needed. Services include newborn screening, sickle cell clinic, transfusion clinic, community case management, and inpatient consultation. The program actively participates in developing new therapies, including national trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, such as the Preoperative Transfusion Study.
MEDUCARE (Emergency Transport)
MEDUCARE is MUSC’s medical transport services department. A highly skilled, dedicated pediatric/neonatal team is available around the clock to transport patient who need immediate medical intervention. Depending on the circumstances, MEDUCARE uses helicopter, fixed wing airplane, or ground ambulance services. Arrangements are coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard (Charleston base) in emergency situations requiring boat transport. MEDUCARE uses the same type and quality of child-specific equipment and supplies that is utilized in the hospital setting.
Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine
Neonatal and perinatal specialists at MUSC Children’s Hospital provide services for term and pre-term infants requiring Level III care, including high frequency ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Normal services are also provided for healthy newborns, and Level II care for infants requiring intermediate care. Lactation specialists provide support and education about breastfeeding. The Neonatal/Perinatal Division oversees the High-Risk Developmental Follow-up Clinic and the Infant Home Monitoring Program Clinic. The MUSC Children’s Hospital is recognized as the premier provider of care for high-risk newborns in the region.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team includes 10 board-certified and board-eligible neonatologists and 4 neonatology fellows as well as pediatric residents, specially trained neonatal nurses and nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, radiologists, transport specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, clinical pharmacists, nutritionists, educators, and social workers. The NICU is a 38-bed intensive and special care nursery located on the 8th floor of the MUSC Children’s Hospital. Resources include the clinical pharmacy program and a satellite laboratory within the NICU that is available 24/7. Imaging capabilities include bedside head ultrasound, bedside echocardiography, CT scanning, radionucleoside scanning, and MRI. Portable EEG evaluation is also available. A medical social worker devotes full-time effort to the obstetrical/nursery areas, and the families of babies in the NICU have access to an MUSC-supported domiciliary Ronald McDonald House across the street from the Children’s Hospital.
Prenatal Wellness Center
MUSC’s Prenatal Wellness Center is staffed by nationally recognized maternal-fetal specialists trained in the care of low- and high-risk pregnancies. Throughout pregnancy, each patient receives care from a team of physicians, genetic counselors, nurse midwives, and ultrasound technologists. After delivery, if needed, both mother and child continue to receive intensive obstetric or neonatal care that is often required from high-risk births. The Prenatal Wellness Center offers a complete range of prenatal counseling and testing services, such as: diagnostic testing and screening (amniocentesis, biophysical profiles, etc.); counseling (preconception, genetic, high-risk pregnancy); specialty clinics (diabetes, multiple birth); education (breastfeeding, childbirth preparation, hospital tours, etc.).
Sickle Cell Program
The Pediatric Sickle Cell Program offers comprehensive services to patients diagnosed with a hemoglobinopathy. The sickle cell team consists of a pediatrician specializing in sickle cell disease, pediatric hematologist, nurse coordinator, nurse community case manager, social workers, psychologist, nutritionist, and representatives from other disciplines as needed. Services include newborn screening, sickle cell clinic, transfusion clinic, community case management, and inpatient consultation. The program actively participates in developing new therapies, including national trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, such as the Preoperative Transfusion Study.