“Healing
Children” MEMOIR BY A
LOCAL DOCTOR
AT THE FOREFRONT
OF CHILDREN’S
MEDICINE BY BETH ROESSNER
F rom their tiny hands to
their budding imaginations,
children are not the same as
adults. And yet, it wasn’t until the
‘80s and ‘90s when their differences
were recognized in the medical
world. Pediatric specialists did
not exist and many children were
treated medically as adults.

Even today, children’s hospitals
are not in abundance. There are 35
independent children’s hospitals
in the United States and 200 that
operate as part of a larger integrated
health system. In comparison, there
are over 5,000 hospitals throughout
the country that primarily focus on
adult care.

Photo Provided
Dr. Kurt Newman, CEO and
president of Children’s National
Health System in Washington,
D.C., saw the shortcomings of
pediatric care early on in his career.

He was fascinated by children’s
personalities and resiliency, and
wanted to bring a holistic, hands-on
approach to pediatrics. Although
pediatric medicine was not in his
“game plan,” he discovered the
10 February 2018
washingtonFAMILY.com