Pediatric Specialty Care in New England

Laura:
When Jason was first born, we did not know that he was going to be born with his bilateral complex clubfoot. That was a surprise to us. It was not something that was found on the anatomy scans with ultrasound while I was pregnant. We weren't really prepared for what was going to happen. We didn't know. This was all new to us.

Laura:
I had heard through other parents and other providers that Shriners was a great option, but to hear it from my local doctor saying, "It's time. Let's bring Jason to the best pediatric ortho that we can find," I remember being so nervous. "What is going to happen? How is this going to be? What is this hospital like?" And we got here and it was just, it was like the sunshine through the clouds moment and everyone was so friendly, and this was a hospital that truly catered to children.

Jason:
I like Shriners Hospital because everyone is very nice.

Sarah Durgin MHS PA-C:
The treatment for clubfeet has evolved over time. In the past used to be casting followed by fairly big surgeries. But now we've adopted the Ponseti technique, which is a method of serial casting where casts are changed on a weekly basis to slowly change the position of a clubfoot over time. And the hope is that we can minimize the need for surgical interventions.

Sarah Durgin MHS PA-C:
So there are some clubfeet that are more complex or a little more difficult to deal with than your typical clubfeet. We call them "complex clubfeet" and in those cases, we still try with the Ponseti technique and do our best with casting to try and minimize the amount of surgery. But in some cases, the feet are just too stiff and rigid and require further surgery, just like Jason's did.

Laura:
As a mom, as any parent, I think would feel it's very stressful to know that your child has to have some type of surgery. Being able to be here at Shriners, there was such a relief knowing that the care he was receiving was from specialists who understood pediatrics, who understood the dynamics of a family, who understood the stress of a parent.

Jason:
I like Dr. Sarah because she's nice like everyone else.

Sarah Durgin MHS PA-C:
So Jason is doing very well now. He is now nine years old. His feet are flat on the floor. We can never make them normal, but we've got feet that are flat to the floor. He's running, playing and doing everything a nine year old kids should do. And we'll just continue to help him along the way as long as we can.

Laura:
I've never been alone. I've always had a care team. I've always had somebody telling us how it will be all right and reminding us that we can still live. We'll be okay. We'll still live our lives as parents and as families and as kids.

Laura:
That love and that care just speaks volumes to me as a parent, knowing that the staff are willing to go far beyond out of their reach and out of their way to make sure that the youngest patients and the most vulnerable patients will feel that love.

Ed Geoffrion:

Hello I'm Ed Geoffrion chairman of the Springfield Shriners Hospital board of governors i want to thank you for volunteering your time to support the shriners hospital for children in mission by making it possible for our patients to continue to receive the life-changing care they need despite the coven-19 pandemic maintaining the health and safety of our staff patients family and you is our top priority this video is intended to provide you with some education on the process and standards that the hospital has put in place and must be adhered to in order to keep everyone safe a quick overview about covert 19. kelvin 19 is a virus that is spread through contact with the respiratory droplets of an infected person often released when coughing sneezing or talking it may also be transmitted if you touch a surface or object that has a virus on it and then touch your mouth nose or eyes everyone is at risk of getting coca-19 the best way to protect yourself is to avoid being exposed you can do that by avoiding close contact whenever possible maintain at least six feet of distance between you and others wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth when in public settings wash your hands often and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in accordance with the massachusetts department of public health springfield shriners hospital has adopted workplace safety standards that all members of the care team including transport drivers are required to comply with to reduce the spread of coven 19. the first standard is universal screening before scheduled patient transportation shriners hospital would screen the patient and the adult accompanying them for covert 19 symptoms drivers must self-screen by taking their temperature and answering the designated screen questions provided in your shrine center's patient transportation kit of course if you're not feeling well please do not transport patients the best place for you is home resting and not interacting with others the second safety standard is universal masking all drivers patients and other passengers are required to wear a mask at all times during the transportation process unless under the age of two or a medical condition prevents them from wearing a mask safely the third safety standard is frequent hand washing all drivers patients and passengers are expected to wash their hands frequently during the transportation process this is especially important after touching shared surfaces blowing your nose coughing or sneezing always avoid touching your eyes nose and mouth with unwashed hands soap and water or hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 alcohol like that found in the patient transportation kit does the trick the fourth safety standard is social distancing whenever possible stay at least six feet or about two arms length apart from people when in indoor and outdoor public spaces the last safety standard is frequent cleaning drivers are expected to clean and disinfect all high touch surfaces in the transport vehicle before and after every patient transport with special attention paid to things like door handles seat belt buckles dashboard dials and switches steering wheel and seats you'll find all supplies you need in your patient transportation kit and finally we strongly recommend all drivers receive an annual flu shot to help safeguard themselves and others from illness please refer to the springfield shriners hospital patient transportation protocol document for additional information and feel free to reach out to the great patient transportation team here in springfield with any questions committing to perform these extra steps will help ensure we all stay safe thank you

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Rob Gronkowski:

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