Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, St. Cloud Hospital expand partnership From Spotlight on Health - Winter 2012

Children in Central Minnesota needing pediatric specialty care for cancer and blood disorders now will be able to stay closer to home through a partnership between St. Cloud Hospital and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

The partnership will keep children closer to their families, doctors and homes when possible, and provide coordinated care to Children’s Minneapolis campus when more specialized care is required. The partnership gives St. Cloud Hospital expanded access to Children’s treatment guidelines, protocols and recommendations. Oncologists and hematologists from Children’s also will increase availability in St. Cloud, scheduling outpatient visits several days each month.

“This partnership with Children’s expands upon an already established relationship and strengthens St. Cloud Hospital as a referral center of excellence for pediatric services,” said Penny Beattie, RN, care center director of the Women & Children’s Center at St. Cloud Hospital.

“By co-managing care at the site that is most appropriate to patients and their families, we can improve the lives of sick children and improve patient outcomes,” Penny continued.

For more than 10 years, St. Cloud Hospital and Children’s have worked together to provide pediatric cancer services in St. Cloud. This new partnership formalizes the relationship and allows both organizations to build upon the success of a collaborative care model. Already the new partnership has helped St. Cloud Hospital form a Pediatric Sedation program this past spring, and talks are underway to expand the relationship into neurosciences within the next year.

Learn more:
St. Cloud Hospital Pediatric Services