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Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
At Blythedale Children’s Hospital, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, pediatric attending staff supports infants, children and adolescents prior to and following complicated transplant procedures including heart, liver, kidney, bowel, and even multi-organ transplants.
These children require the highest level attention of a multidisciplinary team of pediatricians, pediatric physiatrists, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists and physical, occupational, speech and feeding therapists familiar with the problems inherent in recovery from and living with a transplant.
We recognize the vital importance of an ongoing relationship with the child’s referring medical team, and we have regular, comprehensive communication including follow-up visits with transplant teams from referring institutions. State-of-the-art medical technology and monitoring equipment, combined with rigorous infection control protocols, enable us to care for children even while they are receiving immunosuppressive medications.
If needed, isolation rooms are available for children who are immunocompromised. Blythedale’s pharmacy, staffed by board certified pediatric clinical pharmacists, compounds therapeutic agents and prepares IV infusions on site. Expertly trained staff are knowledgeable in pre- and post-transplant care, and recognize the vital role parents/caregivers play as our partners in care on the road home.

A Fighter With Heart
Rebecca has always been a fighter, even before birth. The 12-year-old was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect. Throughout her life, Rebecca has endured a variety of procedures related to her diagnosis, but none prevented her from enjoying her...
Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant Team
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Social Work and Care Coordination Services
When your child is admitted to one of Blythedale’s programs, your family is assigned a social worker who will work closely with you throughout your stay at Blythedale. We will help you cope with the emotional stress of the next phase of your child’s recovery while adjusting to a new...
Pediatrics
Dedicated pediatricians for each of our units provide medical care while the child is in the hospital, coordinate the services of the other subspecialties, and supervise the discharge planning process. Family and pediatric nurse practitioners are assigned to the Hospital’s units, as well as...
Clinical Nutrition
Our dietitians create individualized meal plans for patients with allergies, dietary restrictions and specialized diets, while working alongside the child's speech therapist to ensure the best results. For the infant population at Blythedale Children's Hospital, the Clinical Nutrition team...
Physical Therapy
Treatment plans often include exercise for patients who have been immobilized and lack flexibility, strength, or endurance. In addition, pediatric physical therapists promote development of normal components of movement and gross motor skills. Augmentative therapies provided by Blythedale’s...
Occupational Therapy
Our experienced pediatric OTs are proficient in working with children ranging from medically fragile infants to teenagers recovering from traumatic injuries. Our treatment sessions are child centered using a supportive and playful approach. Services include: Comprehensive evaluation of child’...
Speech Pathology & Audiology
Speech and Feeding Therapy Blythedale is skilled in diagnosing subtle developmental differences that are often difficult to identify. We provides services in the areas of language (understanding and expression of thoughts), speech (or clarity), voice, fluency (or stuttering), pragmatic (or social...
Therapeutic and Developmental Support Services
Child Life and Creative Arts Program Child Life Program The Child Life and Creative Arts program at Blythedale Children’s Hospital is dedicated to helping infants, children and their families cope through their medical journey. Our team of Certified Child Life Specialists are trained in the...
Pharmacy
The Department is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to patients and staff. Our pharmacists prepare compounds for both enteral and parenteral specialty medications, and provides individualized patient specific weight based unit doses. Our team reviews the appropriateness of all medication...
Parent and Caregiver Training
Parents receive extensive training in managing their child’s condition and necessary medical equipment. If a child relies on medical technology, such as a ventilator, our staff engages parents in a thorough program of education - beginning on day one - so parents become confident and adept in...
Malka on the Move
Eight-year-old Malka contracted an infection last spring that attacked her heart. She and her family visited a cardiologist in June, who diagnosed her with tachyarrhythmia because her heart rate was too fast.
She needed a new heart. So, to keep her alive until one could be found, doctors performed lifesaving surgery on Malka and implanted an LVAD in her chest.
Watch Malka thrive at Blythedale Children's Hospital as she strengthens her heart, body and mind in preparation for transplant surgery with the help of nursing staff, doctors, therapists and other members of her multidisciplinary team.
Wondrous Wadeem
International Heart Transplant Patient's Journey for Cardiac & Pulmonary Care
How far would you go for the best medical care for your child? For five-year-old Wadeem and her family, the answer was half a world away, at Blythedale. Learn how she received post-transplant cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, plus management of many other complex medical conditions.

At Blythedale, kids get to be kids. They can build their strength up before they have their heart transplant, but still focus on being a kid.
- Melissa Shemek, Director of Nursing Education