West Tennessee Healthcare and Le Bonheur Children's Hospital have announced a new collaboration to provide specialized pediatric care to the children of West Tennessee. A resolution approving the collaboration was approved by the West Tennessee Healthcare board at their meeting on June 29, 2021.
In July, the two organizations will ask the State of Tennessee for approval to develop a pediatric hospital-within-a-hospital licensed to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital inside Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. The pediatric unit will be the first of its kind in West Tennessee and is proposed to be staffed by pediatric experts from Le Bonheur and West Tennessee Healthcare.
The two organizations will work together in their shared mission of improving the health status of West Tennessee children by enhancing access to expert pediatric care and developing more comprehensive pediatric specialty programs. This will allow West Tennessee children from an 18-county radius to stay closer to home, while receiving the highest level of care.
"We are so proud of the work we've done at West Tennessee Healthcare for many years taking care of children. We look forward to receiving approval to work with Le Bonheur Children's to continue this worthy mission," said James (JR) Ross, president and CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare. "Children in our region deserve all of us working together to ensure they grow up healthy, safe and strong."
More details regarding the scope of the venture, including services provided, are expected later this year. For more information and to stay up-to-date as details evolve, visit www.lebonheur.org/westtennessee or www.wthpediatrics.org.
"We are honored to join West Tennessee Healthcare to enhance the care we offer to children in West Tennessee," said Le Bonheur President Michael Wiggins. "Our organizations have a shared mission of improving the health of West Tennessee families, and we're excited to work together to ensure that care is close to home for children."
Le Bonheur Children's has a long-standing presence in Jackson and West Tennessee. Families are already familiar with a 20-exam room outpatient center on Vann Drive off Interstate 40 in Jackson, where 17 pediatric subspecialties are offered. Le Bonheur on the Move, a mobile medical unit in West Tennessee, helps children connect with a pediatric medical home. Le Bonheur also offers school-based nursing, behavioral health navigation, health education and school-mandated screenings to various West Tennessee communities.
Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, part of West Tennessee Healthcare, has been serving the region since 1950, and is the largest hospital between Memphis and Nashville. The health system provides a full range of healthcare services including hospitals and clinics throughout the region, and employs more than 7,000 people.
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