Pediatric Orthopaedic Division Chief Report | Winter 2021

Pediatric Orthopaedic Update | Winter 2021

By Michael Glotzbecker, MD

Michael Glotzbecker, MD

When my wife and I packed up our practices and moved to Cleveland just over a year ago, we knew that we were making a big life change. It would be hard to anticipate just how unusual this year would be, as we have faced unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Challenging times provide opportunity for personal and group reflection, and our future is bright, as we grow and expand our department on the solid foundation established over the last several decades by Dr. George Thompson.  It is a true honor to hold a distinguished chair in his name, and I will work tirelessly to honor his legacy. We have continued to grow our clinical volume as we have emerged from the height of the pandemic, with improved surgical volumes in 2020 over 2019, despite the challenges we faced.

Clinically, our team is strong. I am excited to join this team, who represent everything that is great about UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Our team of doctors and nurses have the expertise to tackle any pediatric orthopaedic problem, from the simple to the most complex. We offer clinic locations throughout Northeast Ohio, and are committed to being the leader in pediatric orthopaedic care in the region. We are pleased to offer same day fracture clinics, which ensures pediatricians and families quick access to get children in to see us for immediate care.

We are also growing and expanding, and will be adding additional experienced physicians to help with congenital upper extremity and adolescent hip conditions. We will be adding a nurse practitioner and additional members to our research team in 2021. And, we are currently renovating our office space to accommodate our growing team!

Our Division is committed to offering the most up to date technology and services to the families we serve. In February 2021, the second EOSedge unit in the country became operational at University Hospitals and co-located for our patients at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. This technology provides low dose, high quality radiographic images for our patients. We are able to reconstruct 3 dimensional images from these xrays, which allows us to deliver more efficient orthopaedic care. EOSedge is also safer for our patients, providing significant radiation dose reduction (up to 80% less) compared to traditional x-rays, which is critical for children who require many radiographic studies during their growth.

From a research perspective, Connie Poe-Kochert’s retirement (after 41 years in the department!) is also a huge change for us. She built a robust, solid database that will serve as a foundation for our spinal research going forward, as well as a team that will continue to build on her exceptional productivity. We welcomed Erin Gill, RN to our team as Connie’s replacement. The department’s commitment to research has consistently been our top priority, and we are motivated to continue this tradition and honor Connie’s legacy. Rainbow Orthopaedics is actively participating in several international study groups focused on improving global care for children. All members of our team are dedicated to the academic mission and tradition that makes Rainbow orthopaedics great.

We are excited for what 2021 and beyond has to offer, and we look forward to a bright future. I can also tell you that you will need to watch Cleveland sports teams a bit more closely in the years to come. I moved to Boston in 2004, which is the year the Red Sox broke the “curse” and won the World Series.  There was a championship parade (Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins) essentially every year I lived in Boston. Now in Cleveland (2020), the Red Sox and the Patriots missed the playoffs, and the Browns ended their playoff drought! Here is to hoping for some Cleveland championship parades in the years to come! Go Browns!

From our Department to you, wishing you a great 2021.