Boston Children’s Hospital and Baystate Health have formed a collaboration that will improve patient access to highly specialized pediatric care and strengthen the coordination of care between the hospitals.
The collaboration will provide patients throughout western Massachusetts with improved access to pediatric specialty care at Baystate Children’s Hospital, and it will streamline care planning among providers at Boston Children’s and Baystate Children’s. The collaboration anticipates the two hospitals will jointly develop pathways to ensure children and adolescents get the right care in the right setting. In some instances, Boston Children’s clinicians will be available to provide care at Baystate Children’s.
“As the leading children’s hospital in western Massachusetts, Baystate Children’s has long partnered with the community to advance the health and well-being of all children from prevention to critical care. Today we are delighted to build upon our exceptional care for families through a collaboration with the much-respected Boston Children’s Hospital, which will provide additional clinical expertise when needed for our young patients,” says Dr. Mark A. Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health.
Dr. Charlotte Boney, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Baystate Children’s Hospital adds: “This collaboration acknowledges and strengthens the close working relationship with Boston Children’s Hospital that we have enjoyed for many years. This collaboration will facilitate our continued ability to keep specialty care local so that children and families have access to a broad range of high-quality, affordable services right here in western Massachusetts. We look forward to exploring other opportunities that will strengthen our collaboration to serve our mutual missions of patient care, medical education and community service.”
The collaboration builds on the strong working relationship that currently exists between the hospitals. The two hospitals already work collaboratively in cardiology, neurology and dermatology, and by enhancing medical education, remote consults, information technology and other initiatives, will be better able to coordinate care for their patients.