Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC is the only hospital in western Pennsylvania devoted solely to the care of infants, children and young adults. It has been named consistently to several elite lists of pediatric health care facilities. This recognition includes being listed as one of the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report and Child Magazine, and ranking seventh in research funding, among children’s hospitals, provided by the National Institutes of Health.

The 260-bed hospital is a national leader in a multitude of sub-specialty services, including cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, critical care medicine, diabetes, hematology/oncology, neurosurgery, organ and tissue transplantation, orthopaedics, otolaryngology (ENT) and pediatric surgery. The Emergency Department alone treats about 60,000 children each year.

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has more than 700 active staff pediatricians and 186 physicians in its postgraduate teaching programs. In addition, more than 500 community pediatricians, subspecialists and family physicians are members of the medical staff.

The hub of pediatric research in the region is Children’s Hospital’s John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center, where scientists are racing to find cures for childhood disease and disability. Children’s scientists have undertaken nearly 700 research studies representing academic pursuit in every major discipline. In addition, Children’s General Clinical Research Center, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, has supported leading-edge patient investigations since 1962.

The hospital also has honored its pledge to the community to serve every child regardless of his or her family’s ability to pay. In 1980, Children’s established the Free Care Fund to assist families who are uninsured, underinsured or do not have access to medical assistance.

Breakthroughs

The first pediatric transplant was performed in 1981 by Dr. Thomas Starzl at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Ours is one of only five hospitals in the country to pioneer the anti-rejection drug FK506. We have the most active pediatric liver transplant center in the country — more than 1,000 transplants — and one of the most active pediatric heart transplantation centers in the world — more than 160 transplants. Children’s Hospital performs kidney, liver, heart, simultaneous pancreas-kidney, heart-lung, lung, intestine, and blood and bone marrow transplants. In 2004, Children’s became the first and only transplant center in the world to develop a comprehensive, multidisciplinary medical protocol for performing liver transplants in patients with Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD). In 2005, Children’s transplant program was renamed the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation.

In 1981, Children’s opened one of the first short bowel clinics in the nation and is recognized internationally for successful surgical and non-surgical management of children with intestinal disorders. It is the nation’s first multidisciplinary, comprehensive Intestinal Care Center.

In diabetes, Children’s researchers have pioneered studies of the relationship of the genetically determined substances responsible for tissue “matching” (necessary for successful transplantation, for example) to the occurrence of diabetes mellitus in children. These studies, initiated to define the molecular reasons for diabetes, have immense implications for improving our ability to transplant tissues such as bone marrow from one person to another. With one of the largest pediatric diabetes clinics in North America, Children’s Hospital provides consultative services and long-term management for children with diabetes mellitus.

Children’s Hospital’s Otolaryngology Department offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment programs for diseases of the ear, nose or throat. Specialized surgical procedures include laryngotracheal reconstructions, pediatric sinus surgery, cochlear implants and congenital ear reconstructions. Extensive research programs reflecting the combined efforts of the departments of Pediatrics and Otolaryngology, have made major contributions toward understanding and treating common ear, nose and throat infections. Research into improving prevention and healing of wounds via tissue engineering is being conducted.