Fund-A-Need

Interventional radiology, or IR, refers to a wide range of minimally invasive procedures—catheter and feeding tube placement, tissue and bone marrow biopsy, fluid drainage, lumbar puncture, and more—that are done using X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, or other medical images. Right now, our pediatric patients who need IR procedures, have to travel to and from Strong to get them. They are treated side-by-side with adult patients.

Why is it crucial to have a pediatric IR suite at GCH?

• With pediatric-focused nurses, technicians, anesthesiologists, and child life specialists, our kids will receive care tailored to their specific needs, in a child-friendly environment.
• IR procedures performed by skilled pediatric teams tend to be less invasive, have faster recovery times, and often help patients avoid surgical intervention. For example, we’ve seen as much as a 25 percent reduction in the need for sedation medications when pediatric specialists are involved.
• We can serve more kids, more quickly and more safely. Should the need for other pediatric services arise, they can be easily accessed without moving the child from the adult IR suite.
• The suite provides the critical foundation we need to build out robust specialty programs (such as a liver/bowel transplantation program), attract more world-class pediatric faculty, and ultimately, help more kids in need.
• A state-of-the art pediatric IR suite is a core service in most children’s hospitals. GCH is one of the few hospitals lacking such a facility, and it is the only remaining area within URMC in which pediatric patients aren’t separated from adults.

You can help fund a dedicated pediatric interventional suite at Golisano Children’s Hospital that will improve outcomes for our
kids and allow us to build a world-class transplantation program.

For more information, contact Scott Rasmussen, senior assistant vice president for advancement, at (585) 766-2993 or srasmussen@admin.rochester.edu.