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Dear Colleagues:

As part of our strategic goal to expand our offerings in service of superior patient outcomes, we are pleased to share that UVA Health University Medical Center is establishing a new Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine as part of UVA Health Children’s. Our vision is to establish UVA Health as a national leader in Pediatric Emergency Medicine with a Pediatric Emergency Department that will serve as a “front door” for many families to our top-ranked children’s hospital. Most importantly, it will position us to deliver the best emergency care possible to children in our community.

Opening this program will address the unique care needs of our pediatric patients and their families while further elevating the already excellent pediatric emergency care we offer. Creating a distinct Pediatric Emergency Medicine division marks a major shift that will improve how we care for emergent pediatric patients. The new unit will be staffed by faculty and staff with specialized pediatric training and certifications, knowledgeable technicians, and child life therapists, working together in a team-oriented approach.

Many academic medical centers have pediatric emergency medicine subspecialties. In joining our peers, UVA Health will improve care for our children and families and bolster our graduate medical education opportunities as well.

Developing and leading this new program as chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and medical director is Elisabeth A. Rogers, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Rogers has been with UVA Health for more than 10 years and brings extensive experience in pediatric emergency medicine. She began her career at Boston Children’s Hospital, a primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where she completed a residency in pediatrics. She remained at Boston Children’s, home to one of the top pediatric emergency medicine departments in the country and a leader in the subspecialty, to complete her fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine. She came to Virginia in 2010 and led the creation of a 24/7 pediatric emergency department at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. With her exceptional experience and remarkable passion for pediatric emergency medicine, we look forward to seeing this initiative come to fruition under her leadership.

Our work to stand up a Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine has just begun, and we expect it will take three to five years to fully realize our vision. Our initial focus is on recruitment of specialized staff and this is already in progress. The development of policies and protocols represents another large body of work that will need to be completed, along with optimization of the physical space.

We look forward to updating you on our progress and thank you in advance for your support of this important initiative that will further transform health and inspire hope for the youngest Virginians and their families.

Andrew E. Muck, MD, MBA
Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine

Wendy M. Horton, PharmD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
UVA Health University Medical Center

Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC
Chief Nursing Officer
UVA Health University Medical Center

Reid Adams, MD
Chief Medical Officer
UVA Health University Medical Center