Mission Children's Hospital

New Services to Meet Children's Needs

As Western North Carolina's only children's hospital, Mission Children's stays closely attuned to the health needs of parents and kids. In 2008, we introduced new services to respond to unmet needs and keep pediatric care in this region on the leading edge.

• Marshalling resources to fight autism - After a community needs assessment showed that services for children with autism were inadequate in Western North Carolina, Mission Children's Hospital launched a major expansion of the autism program at the Olson Huff Center for Child Development. With the support of grant funding, four new professionals were brought on board: a developmental pediatrician, a PhD-level psychologist with specialization in autism, a master's-level psychologist and an autism coordinator. Together, the team focuses on encouraging early screening and diagnosis. The current thinking in the field is that when children with autism are identified early, new interventions can dramatically improve their outcomes in battling the disorder.
• A new model for anesthesia - Mission Children's Hospital is among the early pioneers of a growing national trend: formation of a specialized pediatric sedation service. Recognizing that children react differently to anesthesia than adults, the new service aims to ensure that youngsters get the proper amount of sedation - not too much and not too little - when undergoing a medical procedure. A newly formed interdisciplinary team includes a pediatric intensivist and pediatric nurses specially credentialed in sedation. The team also involves Mission's Child Life specialists, who utilize toys and models to help the young patients understand the procedure they are about to experience and put them at ease.

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