PEDIATRIC CARE
Jupiter Medical Center is committed to providing children with expert,
compassionate care in a convenient, child friendly setting. Our pediatric
services have made extraordinary progress in recent years. In January
2016, we opened the De George Pediatric Unit, made possible by lead gifts
from the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation and the Lawrence
J. and Florence A. De George Charitable Trust. This 12-bed, child-friendly,
pediatric inpatient unit features two technologically advanced pediatric
surgery suites, and was designed to help children feel safe and relaxed.
Since the opening of our inpatient pediatric unit, we have experienced
a 30 percent increase in pediatric emergency room visits. To meet this
demand and continue with our mission of advancing top-quality pediatric
care in our region, we built a dedicated, pediatric emergency department.
The 6,300-square-foot Mastroianni Family Pediatric Emergency Department
opened in May 2019 gives our families with young children their own dedicated
waiting area, pediatric triage rooms, and eight pediatric treatment rooms,
including one isolation room, in a kid-friendly environment to reduce anxiety.
For our families whose infants require a higher level of specialized care,
a 16-bed, Level II, De George Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), outfitted
with advanced monitoring, imaging and respiratory technologies, opened
in October 2019.
Having these facilities so close to home will give parents much-needed
peace of mind knowing pediatricians trained in emergency medicine are
on-site 24/7, and an expert team of pediatric subspecialists in areas
such as, cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, orthopedics, pulmonology,
ear, nose and throat and general surgery, along with pediatric-trained
nurses and a child-life specialist, are available when children are in
need of nothing but the best medical treatment.
CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE
Expansion of our pediatric services into a full-featured Children’s
Institute will make our unique region a healthy, vibrant place for all—including
our youngest, most vulnerable residents. In an attempt to strategically
and proactively prepare for what the future holds, the Children’s
Institute at Jupiter Medical Center will be positioned as a leading program
in Palm Beach and Martin counties, with the addition of a number of critical
components such as services, medical staff and technology, including:
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
The next logical progression in building a thriving pediatric program is
the addition of a PICU that provides sick children with the highest level
of medical care, and utilizes intensive nursing care and therapies that
require continuous monitoring for the sickest children cared for by Pediatric
Intensivists.
Patients in the PICU might include those with severe pulmonary problems
such as asthma, serious infections, certain heart conditions and some
complications of diabetes. When necessary, pediatric patients may be transferred
to the PICU if they become more acutely ill or need additional care following surgery.
Advanced Pediatric Care
With the addition of the pediatric emergency department and Level II NICU,
Jupiter Medical Center will need to continue to expand pediatric services
to meet the rising demand for treatment of more complex diseases and injuries
in children and young adults.
Neurology is an area of particularity high demand in pediatrics. Pediatric
Neurologists treat children with a wide variety of neurological conditions
such as epilepsy, brain tumors, stroke, and genetic conditions, along
with the side effects often associated with them; including headaches,
and behavioral and developmental disorders.
Treatment in pediatrics often requires ongoing care, close follow-up, and
a multidisciplinary team approach that includes pediatricians or other
primary care doctors, therapists and specialists. Each one of these areas
will require the recruitment of additional, world-class medical professionals
who are highly specialized in their respective area of expertise.