“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
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focus exclusively on
children. Dr. Newman recently released a
new memoir, “Healing Children,”
which chronicles his endeavors
and lessons learned as a pediatric
surgeon. Here’s what he had to say.

It relates to the fact that children’s
health care is not enough of a
national priority. I don’t think
we invest enough in our children.

One example: There aren’t enough
children’s hospitals. I think another
example is when you listen to the
debate on Capitol Hill and the
legislative proposals, you don’t hear
people talking about the impact
on children. It’s all about adults,
elderly and the disabled. Children
are not part of the conversation.

What was your motivation for
writing the book?
After 32 years of being in a
children’s hospital, most of that as
a surgeon, I would get calls and
questions from parents all the time
about pediatric medicine. What I
wanted to do was empower parents
with the knowledge of how children
are different than adults. The
medicine is different. The biology is
different. How do children and adults differ
physiologically? One of the most obvious ways
that children are different is that
they start small and grow up. In
every step of the way, their brain is
developing from the time they are
born to the time they are adults. At
Children’s Hospital, doctors, nurses
and specialists are aware of that
development and have to
factor that in.

Children are more resilient in
many ways. Their tissues and their
organs are more resilient. You
want doctors and hospitals that are
bernie_photo/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
excitement and impact of being a
surgeon for children at a children’s
hospital. His two-year fellowship
at Children’s National has turned
into a 30-plus year career in helping
children and advancing medicine.

Why are there so few
children’s hospitals in
America? I believe, instead of cutting funding
and cutting Medicaid (which is
such a big piece of the coverage
for children), we invest more. It’s a
smart investment and saves money
in the long run. You’re eliminating
diseases early and may
be correcting things
that may lead to future
complications. Early
diagnosis and early
intervention is a smart
investment. emergency department, for example,
doesn’t see that many children or
have pediatric specialists available.

They may not even have pediatric
equipment available.

What I try to point out in the book
is that it’s a good idea for parents
to think about this ahead of time.

People should be able to ask and
advocate for their child, and think
about where they are going to take
their child if there is an emergency.

And, to also make sure a children’s
hospital is in their insurance plan.

What are common
misconceptions that
people have in regards
to pediatric care?
I think the biggest one
that I faced is that
parents just don’t
know. Parents may not
understand that an
Photo Provided
“When you listen
to the debate on Capitol Hill …
you don’t hear people talking
about the impact on children.”
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