Pediatric rheumatologists treat both non-inflammatory and inflammatory rheumatic disease, ranging from chronic pain disorders to arthritis, inflammatory muscle disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and other life-threatening vasculitides in children.  “This expansion is critical as there are only 150 pediatric rheumatologists nationwide in practice and more than 300,000 children in the United States who are in need of their care,” says Andreas Reiff, MD, head of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and associate professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.  “In states like Nevada and New Mexico, there are no practicing pediatric rheumatologists.  Here at Miller Children’s, we are pleased to announce we now have four attending physicians and will be adding a fifth in April.”

Amgen, a biotechnology pioneer headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif., has donated $653,392 to help create the Pediatric Rheumatology CORE.  Creating the CORE will insure the best treatment outcomes for children with rheumatic disease through excellence in clinical care, research and education by creating new and increased access to the highest level of quality comprehensive care in Southern California and underserved neighboring states and by combining existing expertise in Pediatric Rheumatology.   The CORE is based at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, with a satellite site at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach and another clinic soon to open in the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases in Las Vegas.  The CORE will be supported by $5.8 million in fundraising over the next five years from the Arthritis Foundation, Southern California Chapter, which believes in the mission of creating the highest quality of comprehensive Pediatric Rheumatology care, with other independent philanthropic sponsors coming on board to extend their support.

The CORE satellite clinic at Miller Children’s Hospital was the first testing platform for a new business model, according to Dr. Reiff.  The model has been extremely efficient while implementing a flat-fee structure that is working successfully for both the physicians and the participating outreach clinics.  Dr. Reiff said the CORE should be fully operational by July 2009.

The Pediatric Rheumatology CORE Program at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach is available to inpatients and outpatients on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays beginning at 9 a.m.  To schedule appointments and visits, contact Mary Lynn Bowlin, RNP, at (562) 933- 8890.  On Tuesdays, Fridays and weekends, please call (323) 660-2450 and ask for the pediatric rheumatologist on-call to be paged.

Also included in the campaign total were gifts, grants and pledges from doctors of $753,625 that also exceeded the $750,000 goal.

“Our physicians at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach generously participated in this effort and we appreciate the leadership and support so many have contributed to help reach this goal,” says Walt Florie, Campaign Co-Chair and President of the Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation.

The campaign was co-chaired by Santos Cortez, D.D.S., and Lupe Padilla, M.D., with the committee comprised of Jill Gaoghagan, M.D., Janet McCormick, M.D., Gary Moreau, M.D., and Nasir Tejani, M.D.

“I am  so proud of the generosity exhibited by  our entire team here at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach not only for their own gifts but especially for all the hard work and time they took to reach out to others for support,” says Dr. Padilla.
For more information about the Building for Children Campaign, please contact Tom Poole at (562) 933-1664.

The Greek word “apnea” literally means “without breath.”  Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. Risk factors include being male, overweight and older than forty, but sleep apnea can strike anyone—male or female—at any age, even children.  As common as adult diabetes, sleep apnea affects more than 12 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Sleep Disorders in Pediatric Patients
Sleep disorders are also very common—and often underdiagnosed—in children. In fact, approximately 69 percent of children 10 and under experience some type of sleep problem, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
The most common sleep disorders in children include:

• Behavioral sleep disorders, including behaviors such as bedtime resistance and needing parental assistance to fall asleep
• Rhythmic movement disorders (head banging).
• Delayed sleep phase syndrome (teenagers falling asleep very late).
• Sleep apnea.
• Narcolepsy.
• Parasomnia, including night terrors, sleepwalking or bedwetting.

For pediatric patients, the Miller Children’s Hospital Sleep Disorders Center is the only such sleep center in the Los Angeles/Orange County area that is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and specifically provides clinical service, sleep evaluations and treatment for children from birth through late adolescence. The facility’s specially trained staff diagnose and treat children with behavioral, respiratory and non-respiratory sleep disorders.
The center is led by Medical Director Gary S. Feldman, MD., who is board certified in sleep medicine through the American Board of Pediatrics. He is also a developmental behavioral pediatrician and has extensive experience in treating sleep problems commonly found in children who have special needs that include autism, developmental delay or genetic abnormalities.

“Many children who visit the sleep center will require only behavioral intervention,” Feldman says. “Others may need further evaluation in the sleep laboratory to diagnose and treat their symptoms.”

Dr. Feldman says that children often present with unique issues.  “Some children are very fearful, others have behavioral problems related to their medical condition,” he says. “They require very special treatment in order to get an optimal study result. Our sleep lab personnel are trained to work with children to achieve this end. The center is a significant resource to the local medical community and provides academic and scientific value in addition to the highest quality care.”

The Pediatric Sleep Center provides a number of “desensitization programs” for all their patients. For those needing CPAP therapy, children are custom- fitted with masks and go through an acclimation process with the help of a Child Life specialist prior to the actual titration sleep study. The center assists those with special needs to get used to the sleep lab environment prior to their polysomnogram. These steps serve to optimize the results.

The Pediatric Sleep Center lab is located in Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach and the Pediatric Sleep Clinic is located at the Stramski Center adjacent to Miller Children’s Hospital. To refer your pediatric patients, please call (562) 424-4815.