Douglas Carlson, MD, has been named director of the newly established division of hospitalist medicine in the department of pediatrics. The new designation recognizes the important and expanding role hospitalists play in providing quality care and services to pediatric patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH) and other hospitals within BJC HealthCare. The division goes forward with 37 faculty members on staff.
“Hospitalist medicine at Children’s Hospital was established more than 15 years ago by F. Sessions Cole, MD, vice-chair of the department of pediatrics. Since that time, it has had a long and distinguished set of roles and responsibilities,” says Alan Schwartz, PhD, MD, chairman of the department of pediatrics, Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor of Pediatrics and pediatrician-in-chief at SLCH. “Doug Carlson has led the program with distinction since 2004. He is a superior clinician and educator and an accomplished administrator. Further, he is nationally recognized for his leadership of our program.”
Initially, SLCH hospitalist pediatricians provided clinical care and medical student and resident education at St. Luke’s Hospital and Christian Hospital Northeast. The evolution of local hospital systems and the closing of Christian Hospital’s delivery service resulted in a change of focus to providing clinical and educational programs in Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s pediatric emergency unit and normal newborn nursery beginning in 1996. Today, similar services are offered at Progress West HealthCare Center in O’Fallon, Missouri. SLCH hospitalists also are instrumental in providing coverage of the normal newborn nursery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital; sedation services for SLCH’s radiology department, Ambulatory Procedure Center and Pediatric Acute Wound Service (PAWS); urgent care within SLCH’s emergency unit (CARES); and serving as attending physicians for the hospital’s transport team and general pediatric wards.
“A decade ago, becoming a pediatric hospitalist often was seen as a transitional position, with physicians eventually leaving to enter private practice or a fellowship program,” says Dr. Carlson. “Today, it is viewed as a viable career path for pediatricians who like caring for children in a hospital setting, enjoy teaching medical students and residents, and have a desire to advance clinical care through cooperative research with their colleagues in subspecialties.”
In their role as attending physicians at SLCH, Dr. Carlson emphasizes the important relationship that exists between the hospitalists and patients’ primary care physicians. “We recognize our patients have a medical home with their pediatricians. It is our responsibility to communicate with those physicians about the care we are providing in the hospital,” he says. “This is an important partnership that ensures patients receive the best care possible both during their hospitalizations and once they return home.”
Dr. Carlson, a professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, received his medical degree from Southern Illinois University at Springfield and completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at SLCH. In addition to his new appointment, he serves as director of SLCH’s CARES unit and as director of emergency services at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.