With the goal of keeping our children close to home, the newly opened Wesley Children’s Hospital is significant for our community. Wichita Moms Blog team members and readers alike have experienced the burden of travel, unfamiliarity, and leaving their families to get the proper care they need for their sick children.
Now, our families can breathe a sigh of relief.
As of September 1st, Wichita families no longer need to travel to get the care they need for their children. Wesley Children’s Hospital, the state’s first and only hospital dedicated to the treatment of Kansas’ pediatric patients, officially opened it’s doors earlier this month.
Let’s take a deeper look at what our very first children’s hospital means for our community.
HOW: The ICT Community is Impacted
Wesley Children’s Hospital is the state’s first and only hospital dedicated to the treatment of pediatric patients in Wichita, the state of Kansas and even into some of the surrounding states. This means that for the majority of patients in the Wichita area, they will not have to leave the area or travel to be seen for treatment. This also means that the family will remain close to their home, and close to their other family members.
WHEN: Wesley Children’s Hospital is Needed
As with any hospital, patients must be referred by a physician to be admitted to the hospital. So the best recommendation is to follow the advice of your doctor. However, there are instances where families more directly control the location where they receive treatment or diagnostic tests. A person can select to go to the Wesley Children’s Hospital Emergency Department without a physician admission. Families can also request (to their doctors) to go to Wesley Children’s when a physician indicates a child needs to be admitted or have diagnostic tests. A children’s hospital is more equipped to provide services to children than a standard hospital. Children are not just small adults and should be treated with medical equipment designed specifically for children.
WHY: Wesley Children’s is Unique
There are specialized services at Wesley Children’s Hospital, for example, the pediatric intensive care unit or pediatric unit, which are designed specifically for children, in a child’s atmosphere with medical providers who are trained to treat only pediatric patients. Because the care is designed specifically for children with child size equipment and pediatric trained staff, patients have access to the best possible care, experience and outcomes. Wesley Children’s also has several Child Life specialists whose job it is to be an advocate for our pediatric patients while working with the child to make the hospital stay more understandable for the patient.
WHERE: Wichita Families Turn For Support
Your child unexpectedly becomes ill and it turns your life upside down. You’re not sure what you’re supposed to do, how you’re going to do it or what resources are available to help. This is where Wesley Children’s Foundation comes in.
Wesley Children’s Foundation is a brand new organization that is here to help sick kids and their families. When a child becomes sick, there is so much to worry about and it can become overwhelming for the family. Wesley Children’s Foundation is here to support families with sick children by helping pay for medications, durable medical equipment and travel assistance if they need to travel outside Wichita to receive treatment. They will also be starting programs and services to assist sick children at no additional cost to the families.
WHO: To Contact for Help
If you need assistance, please call Jill Bosley at 316-962-2403 or email at [email protected]
Thank you to Wesley Children’s Hospital VP of Marketing, Allen Poston and Wesley Children’s Foundation Director, Jill Bosley for providing this information for our community of moms.
Benefitting Wesley Children’s Foundation, the Wine Women and Shoes event will be coming to Wichita on October 21st at 6:30 pm. To learn more about this event and how you can further help the Foundation, click below!
