Lesha's Story - Back on Top
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Lesha knew scoliosis could put a real crimp in a cheerleader’s style. Then Dr. Thompson’s rock-solid surgical skills gave her something to cheer about. The innovative techniques he perfected put a kick in her step and her back in the air. Now, the only back bends Lesha has to worry about are on the field of competition. |
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Strength of Reputation
Consistently ranked the no. 1 pediatric hospital in the midwest and a top 10children’s hospital in annual surveys, including u.s. news & world report, RainbowBabies & Children’s Hospital offers unsurpassed excellence in caring for children.
Rainbow’s staff of more than 850 physicians, nurses, childlife specialists, social workers and other professionals — the largest in northeast Ohio — is dedicated solely to addressing the special diagnostic, medical and surgical needs of children and their families. Each year, we care for more than 200,000 infants, children and adolescents throughout Ohio, with 10,000 admitted annually for inpatient care. All of our physicians serve on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Case), and most are internationally acclaimed clinicians and researchers.
A national leader in the treatment of high-risk and pre mature newborns, Rainbow sets the standard for excellence in neonatology. The February 2003 issue of Child magazine named Rainbow’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) the best in America for its groundbreaking research. The 82-bed, Level III NICU is the largest in the nation. Rainbow’s Level III Neonatal Transitional Care Unit is a national model: NICU babies graduate from the intensive care setting and transition into a home-like setting where parents learn to handle their medical needs before leaving the hospital. The concept has decreased readmissions to the hospital by 74 percent. Rainbow neonatologists are the founding members of the National Institutes of Health Neonatal Research Center and Dr. Maureen Hack was the first to track and publish the outcomes and development of severely premature infants into adulthood. Tracking the successes of premature infants continues today in the Rainbow Preemie Follow-up Clinic and has enabled neonatologists to provide interventional therapies. More over, Rainbow neonatologists have written the definitive textbooks on caring for premature infants. Today, Dr. Avroy A. Fanaroff and Dr. Richard J. Martin, along with Dr. Hack, are considered the “Godparents of Modern Neonatology” for their pioneering work in the field since the 1960s. |
Scientists at Rainbow and Case are among the world’s most innovative researchers, developing new treatments and leading the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common genetic disease. The Willard A. Bernbaum Cystic Fibrosis Research Center strives to discover the basic causes of the disordered salt and water balance in C F, the reasons for the lung infection and inflammation in CF and how to treat it, and methods by which the corrective gene can be introduced into the lung. The fruits of these discoveries come to the patients via the newly opened KC and Ginny Bryan Pulmonary Diagnostic Center and the Leroy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center. At these facilities, living a long life is the goal. So successful have the centers’ treatments become, that the hospital recently opened a new 12-bed adult unit to provide specialized care for its CF patients, who are among the longest living in the nation.
Rainbow is a world leader in the treatment of children with cancer, heart disease, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary disorders, sickle cell disease, kidney disease, and endocrine and metabolic disorders. As part of the Ireland Cancer Center, the National Institute of Cancer-designated center in northeast Ohio, Rainbow’s comprehensive pediatric cancer center offers the most promising treatments to children. Rainbow’s Asthma Center helps children experience less frequent and severe symptoms, while significantly reducing trips to ERs. It also works with referring physicians to provide optimal inpatient and outpatient care programs that incorporate best practice models from throughout the country, including nationally recognized programs developed at Rainbow. Rainbow’s Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit is one of the largest centers for pediatric drug research. Nearly every new drug or vaccine for children will be tested at Rainbow for efficacy and safety. | |