In Dec. 2020, Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension Program earned a designation to reflect its growth and success. It is now called Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension Center.
The Pulmonary Hypertension Center, which started in 2001 as a one-person clinic, has undergone rapid, significant expansion in the last several years. Today, the Pulmonary Hypertension Center is among the largest pediatric pulmonology centers in the U.S. It is one of just eight institutions in the U.S. to be accredited by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association as a pediatric comprehensive care center. It’s housed within the hospital’s pulmonary medicine service, which earned the #3 ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 ranking.
“The change in nomenclature doesn’t impact day-to-day operations much, but it underscores our status as a source of comprehensive, best-quality care,” Nidhy Varghese, MD, director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Center, explained. “A program denotes a group of physicians dedicated to the care of a patient. However, a center implies that a patient can get everything they need at one place – highly specialized care from health care providers collaborating across the institution, in accordance with consistent protocols and procedures.”
During the designation celebration for the renamed Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension Center, director Nidhy Varghese, MD, (right) visits with patient Isla McCullough and Isla's mother.
The core team within the Pulmonary Hypertension Center includes providers who bring expertise from pulmonary medicine, cardiology, critical care and advanced nursing practice. The team works closely with pediatric intensivists, neonatologists, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, pediatric surgeons, pharmacists, palliative care providers, physical therapy and rehabilitation specialists, social workers, nutritionists, and child life specialists – among others. The Pulmonary Hypertension Center treats infants, children and adolescents on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.
Goals for the future involve continued growth to create new opportunities for enhancing patient care and collaborative research:
For more information about the Pulmonary Hypertension Center, please visit texaschildrens.org/departments/pulmonary-hypertension.