Selected Podcast
The Benefits of a Pediatric Hospitalist
Learn what a pediatric hospitalist does, and Genesis HealthCare System's partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Featuring:
BA, Microbiology, Miami University, 1997.
MD, Ohio State University, 1997
Internship, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (then called Columbus Children’s Hospital) 1997-1998
Military service (Navy) active duty and reserve, 1998-2006
Residency, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (then called Columbus Children’s Hospital) 2001-2003
Practiced as both primary care pediatrician and hospitalist from 2003 to 2014, then solely as a Pediatric Hospitalist from 2014 to present. Academic appointments at Ohio State University College of Medicine and East Carolina University College of Medicine during that time.
Scott Luthman M.D., Board-certified in pediatrics
Scott Luthman M.D. is Originally from Dublin, OHBA, Microbiology, Miami University, 1997.
MD, Ohio State University, 1997
Internship, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (then called Columbus Children’s Hospital) 1997-1998
Military service (Navy) active duty and reserve, 1998-2006
Residency, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (then called Columbus Children’s Hospital) 2001-2003
Practiced as both primary care pediatrician and hospitalist from 2003 to 2014, then solely as a Pediatric Hospitalist from 2014 to present. Academic appointments at Ohio State University College of Medicine and East Carolina University College of Medicine during that time.
Transcription:
Scott Webb: Most of us know what a pediatrician does, but did you know there are pediatricians who only work at hospitals? They're known as pediatric hospitalists. And I'm joined today by one of them. Dr. Scott Luthman is here and he's going to tell us what he does, how he helps kids and families. And he's going to tell us about the Genesis Healthcare System and Nationwide Children's Hospital Partnership.
This is Sounds of Good Health with Genesis, brought to you by Genesis Healthcare system. I'm Scott Webb. So doctor, thanks so much for your time today. This is going to be an educational one for me, and I'm sure listeners too, because I don't really know what a pediatric hospitalist is and you do. So let's start there, what is a pediatric hospitalist?
Dr. Scott Luthman: Hi. Well, thank you for having me. a pediatric hospitalist is a pediatrician whose primary responsibility is taking care of children in the hospital setting. So depending on the hospital, this might include care in the newborn nursery, intensive care of babies in a special care nursery, taking care of children of all ages from infants to teenagers, who might be admitted to a pediatric unit. And when needed, a pediatric hospitalist might also attend high-risk deliveries if there's concern that a baby may need assistance at birth. In the case of our Nationwide Children's Hospital Regional Hospitalist Program here at Genesis, it actually includes all of these services. So I guess you could say we're basically a full service pediatric hospitalist program.
Scott Webb: Yeah, very cool. And that's a great place to start. And maybe it's probably obvious, but let's go through what are the essential differences between a pediatrician, a regular pediatrician, if you will, and a pediatric hospitalist.
Dr. Scott Luthman: So depending how the term is used, a pediatrician is really a broad term that defines any physician who is board-certified to take care of children. After their training and board certification, some pediatricians pursue a career as a sort of a primary care pediatrician, which is I think what most people think of when they hear the term pediatrician. And these pediatricians are pediatricians that you might take your children to for well-child visits or immunizations, school physicals, sick visits, things along those lines. This is also what we would call outpatient pediatrics.
Other pediatricians may choose to focus on the care of children in the hospital, which we call inpatient pediatrics. And these pediatricians are called pediatric hospitalists. Of course, other pediatricians may go on to specialize even further in fields such as cardiology or neurology. A pediatric hospitalist is a pediatrician who has a special interest or training in the care of children in the inpatient setting.
Scott Webb: Yeah. So in terms of inpatient versus outpatient, do you also see patients on an outpatient basis or is it only there in the hospital?
Dr. Scott Luthman: I do not. And I would say a pediatric hospitalist typically only sees patients in the hospital. Although there are some pediatricians who do both. At Genesis, the majority of our pediatric hospitalists do not have an office practice. Now, with regards to the "outpatient setting," our pediatric hospitalists are consulted at times to assist with the care of pediatric patients in the emergency department and that's technically considered outpatient. But as far as seeing patients in the office setting, most pediatric hospitalists do not.
Scott Webb: Okay. And so when pediatric patients come into Genesis Hospital, would they also be seen, let's say, by their sort of regular pediatrician or are they really generally only seen by someone like yourself, a pediatric hospitalist?
Dr. Scott Luthman: If they're admitted to the hospital, the vast majority are going to be cared for by the pediatric hospitalist. There are some physicians in the community who provide services as part of the pediatric hospitalist program. But for the majority, it will be taken care of by the pediatric hospitalist.
Scott Webb: Yeah, which makes sense, as you say, that there are pediatricians who have offices and do sort of outpatient-type work almost exclusively. And then, there are folks like yourself, pediatric hospitalists, who work at the hospital, I'm just trying to keep all this straight. I'm sure listeners are as well. I mean, the important thing is that our kiddos are always in good hands, regardless of whether they're inpatient, outpatient, in the office, in the hospital and so on. And along those lines, I want to have you tell us about the Genesis Healthcare System and Nationwide Children's Hospital Partnership and the Genesis Pediatric Hospitalist Program.
Dr. Scott Luthman: It was late 2020 when Genesis partnered with Nationwide Children's Hospital to provide a regional hospitalist program at Genesis. We wanted to provide the highest quality care to our pediatric patients and ensure that those patients who needed inpatient pediatric care would be able to receive that care here at Genesis when able. We also wanted to develop a strong pediatric presence within the hospital at all times, and ensure that a pediatric hospitalist would be in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is something new to this program. This would allow us to be immediately available for any situation, and this has been quite successful.
In addition, our partnership with Nationwide Children's has allowed for the sharing and development of some clinical pathways, for example, to make sure that we are always providing the most up-to-date, evidence-based, quality care available for a child. The partnership has also opened the doors for a whole host of ongoing educational opportunities for physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other staff members. This includes not only the pediatric unit, but also other areas of the hospital, such as the emergency department. So a lot of educational opportunities that this partnership sort of provides for really the whole hospital and the area of pediatric medicine.
And in addition, our close working relationship with Nationwide Children's Hospital Main Campus allowed pretty ready access to pediatric specialists when consultations are needed. So for the most part, when pediatric patients or families bring their child to the hospital, and the child needs to be seen and/or admitted, the majority of pediatric patients are going to be seen by our pediatric hospitalist program. Certainly, all of the newborns in both the well-baby nursery and those receiving say intensive care in our special care nursery are seen by a pediatric hospice on a daily basis. And the older child or adolescent on the pediatric unit, the vast majority of these children are also cared for by a pediatric hospitalist on a daily basis.
Sometimes physicians work as a team. So for example, if a child needs surgery, they may be cared for by both a surgeon and a pediatric hospitalist. There may be times when a child needs a relatively straightforward procedure. And so they may only have the surgeon as their primary caretaker. But for the most part, our pediatric hospitalists are involved with pretty much every child that's admitted to the hospital. For children seen in the emergency department. The pediatric hospitalist is always consulted when there's a potential need for an admission to the hospital. We're also consulted if the diagnosis perhaps isn't straightforward, or if the child may need to be transferred to Nationwide Children's Hospital Main Campus, for example. But all in all, this program has been in place for a little over a year and a half. And we're very happy with the way things are going so far.
Scott Webb: Yeah, it sounds like it's going really well. And what else would you want the community to know? If they're not familiar with pediatric hospitalists or the program, what else would you like the Genesis Hospital community to know?
Dr. Scott Luthman: I think if there's one thing that I would like the community to know, I think they should feel confident in the pediatric care that their child would receive when they come to Genesis if they choose to bring them to us. We have a team of physicians, nurses, staff, all who are specially trained in pediatrics, who basically made it their mission to provide the most up-to-date, you know, compassionate, quality care to our pediatric patients.
This partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital has allowed for the development of this program that really I feel is special and one that I really take pride in being a part of. As a parent myself, like you, you know, I always wanted to have confidence that my children would receive the best possible care when they were in need. So I really believe that this Nationwide Children's Hospital Pediatric Hospitalist Program at Genesis provides just that. And I hope our community does as well.
Scott Webb: Well, it certainly sounds like it does. Doctor, it's been so great to learn more about you today and learn about the partnership. Thanks for your time. You stay well.
Dr. Scott Luthman: Thank you. You as well.
Scott Webb: And for more information, visit genesishcs.org. And thanks for listening to Sounds of Good Health with Genesis, brought to you by Genesis Healthcare System. If you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend and subscribe, rate and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well.
Scott Webb: Most of us know what a pediatrician does, but did you know there are pediatricians who only work at hospitals? They're known as pediatric hospitalists. And I'm joined today by one of them. Dr. Scott Luthman is here and he's going to tell us what he does, how he helps kids and families. And he's going to tell us about the Genesis Healthcare System and Nationwide Children's Hospital Partnership.
This is Sounds of Good Health with Genesis, brought to you by Genesis Healthcare system. I'm Scott Webb. So doctor, thanks so much for your time today. This is going to be an educational one for me, and I'm sure listeners too, because I don't really know what a pediatric hospitalist is and you do. So let's start there, what is a pediatric hospitalist?
Dr. Scott Luthman: Hi. Well, thank you for having me. a pediatric hospitalist is a pediatrician whose primary responsibility is taking care of children in the hospital setting. So depending on the hospital, this might include care in the newborn nursery, intensive care of babies in a special care nursery, taking care of children of all ages from infants to teenagers, who might be admitted to a pediatric unit. And when needed, a pediatric hospitalist might also attend high-risk deliveries if there's concern that a baby may need assistance at birth. In the case of our Nationwide Children's Hospital Regional Hospitalist Program here at Genesis, it actually includes all of these services. So I guess you could say we're basically a full service pediatric hospitalist program.
Scott Webb: Yeah, very cool. And that's a great place to start. And maybe it's probably obvious, but let's go through what are the essential differences between a pediatrician, a regular pediatrician, if you will, and a pediatric hospitalist.
Dr. Scott Luthman: So depending how the term is used, a pediatrician is really a broad term that defines any physician who is board-certified to take care of children. After their training and board certification, some pediatricians pursue a career as a sort of a primary care pediatrician, which is I think what most people think of when they hear the term pediatrician. And these pediatricians are pediatricians that you might take your children to for well-child visits or immunizations, school physicals, sick visits, things along those lines. This is also what we would call outpatient pediatrics.
Other pediatricians may choose to focus on the care of children in the hospital, which we call inpatient pediatrics. And these pediatricians are called pediatric hospitalists. Of course, other pediatricians may go on to specialize even further in fields such as cardiology or neurology. A pediatric hospitalist is a pediatrician who has a special interest or training in the care of children in the inpatient setting.
Scott Webb: Yeah. So in terms of inpatient versus outpatient, do you also see patients on an outpatient basis or is it only there in the hospital?
Dr. Scott Luthman: I do not. And I would say a pediatric hospitalist typically only sees patients in the hospital. Although there are some pediatricians who do both. At Genesis, the majority of our pediatric hospitalists do not have an office practice. Now, with regards to the "outpatient setting," our pediatric hospitalists are consulted at times to assist with the care of pediatric patients in the emergency department and that's technically considered outpatient. But as far as seeing patients in the office setting, most pediatric hospitalists do not.
Scott Webb: Okay. And so when pediatric patients come into Genesis Hospital, would they also be seen, let's say, by their sort of regular pediatrician or are they really generally only seen by someone like yourself, a pediatric hospitalist?
Dr. Scott Luthman: If they're admitted to the hospital, the vast majority are going to be cared for by the pediatric hospitalist. There are some physicians in the community who provide services as part of the pediatric hospitalist program. But for the majority, it will be taken care of by the pediatric hospitalist.
Scott Webb: Yeah, which makes sense, as you say, that there are pediatricians who have offices and do sort of outpatient-type work almost exclusively. And then, there are folks like yourself, pediatric hospitalists, who work at the hospital, I'm just trying to keep all this straight. I'm sure listeners are as well. I mean, the important thing is that our kiddos are always in good hands, regardless of whether they're inpatient, outpatient, in the office, in the hospital and so on. And along those lines, I want to have you tell us about the Genesis Healthcare System and Nationwide Children's Hospital Partnership and the Genesis Pediatric Hospitalist Program.
Dr. Scott Luthman: It was late 2020 when Genesis partnered with Nationwide Children's Hospital to provide a regional hospitalist program at Genesis. We wanted to provide the highest quality care to our pediatric patients and ensure that those patients who needed inpatient pediatric care would be able to receive that care here at Genesis when able. We also wanted to develop a strong pediatric presence within the hospital at all times, and ensure that a pediatric hospitalist would be in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is something new to this program. This would allow us to be immediately available for any situation, and this has been quite successful.
In addition, our partnership with Nationwide Children's has allowed for the sharing and development of some clinical pathways, for example, to make sure that we are always providing the most up-to-date, evidence-based, quality care available for a child. The partnership has also opened the doors for a whole host of ongoing educational opportunities for physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other staff members. This includes not only the pediatric unit, but also other areas of the hospital, such as the emergency department. So a lot of educational opportunities that this partnership sort of provides for really the whole hospital and the area of pediatric medicine.
And in addition, our close working relationship with Nationwide Children's Hospital Main Campus allowed pretty ready access to pediatric specialists when consultations are needed. So for the most part, when pediatric patients or families bring their child to the hospital, and the child needs to be seen and/or admitted, the majority of pediatric patients are going to be seen by our pediatric hospitalist program. Certainly, all of the newborns in both the well-baby nursery and those receiving say intensive care in our special care nursery are seen by a pediatric hospice on a daily basis. And the older child or adolescent on the pediatric unit, the vast majority of these children are also cared for by a pediatric hospitalist on a daily basis.
Sometimes physicians work as a team. So for example, if a child needs surgery, they may be cared for by both a surgeon and a pediatric hospitalist. There may be times when a child needs a relatively straightforward procedure. And so they may only have the surgeon as their primary caretaker. But for the most part, our pediatric hospitalists are involved with pretty much every child that's admitted to the hospital. For children seen in the emergency department. The pediatric hospitalist is always consulted when there's a potential need for an admission to the hospital. We're also consulted if the diagnosis perhaps isn't straightforward, or if the child may need to be transferred to Nationwide Children's Hospital Main Campus, for example. But all in all, this program has been in place for a little over a year and a half. And we're very happy with the way things are going so far.
Scott Webb: Yeah, it sounds like it's going really well. And what else would you want the community to know? If they're not familiar with pediatric hospitalists or the program, what else would you like the Genesis Hospital community to know?
Dr. Scott Luthman: I think if there's one thing that I would like the community to know, I think they should feel confident in the pediatric care that their child would receive when they come to Genesis if they choose to bring them to us. We have a team of physicians, nurses, staff, all who are specially trained in pediatrics, who basically made it their mission to provide the most up-to-date, you know, compassionate, quality care to our pediatric patients.
This partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital has allowed for the development of this program that really I feel is special and one that I really take pride in being a part of. As a parent myself, like you, you know, I always wanted to have confidence that my children would receive the best possible care when they were in need. So I really believe that this Nationwide Children's Hospital Pediatric Hospitalist Program at Genesis provides just that. And I hope our community does as well.
Scott Webb: Well, it certainly sounds like it does. Doctor, it's been so great to learn more about you today and learn about the partnership. Thanks for your time. You stay well.
Dr. Scott Luthman: Thank you. You as well.
Scott Webb: And for more information, visit genesishcs.org. And thanks for listening to Sounds of Good Health with Genesis, brought to you by Genesis Healthcare System. If you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend and subscribe, rate and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well.