Hospitalists

Trusted Care

While your child is staying at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, their care will likely be coordinated by one of our experienced hospitalists. Pediatric hospitalists are pediatricians who specifically work in the hospital to care for patients. They take care of patients who have been referred to them by primary care doctors, the Emergency Department or other Children's Hospital specialists. As medical professionals familiar with all the medical services our hospital offers, it is their job to keep track of a patient’s condition and the various specialists who have been involved in their care.

Looking Out for Every Patient’s Well-being

Staying at the hospital can be scary for children. The hospitalist will be a friendly face that sticks with them for duration of their care. This means thy can always rely on their hospitalist to be there to answer questions and provide them assistance when they need it.

The hospitalist essentially serves as a stand-in for your regular physician while hospitalized. It is important that your child’s primary care provider stays up to date on their patient’s status, but very few physicians have the time to visit the hospital and personally check on the patient. Hospitalists will regularly contact the primary care provider to discuss the patient’s care and plan a course of action. Once the patient is discharged from the hospital, the hospitalist gives the primary care provider a final update and instructions for any follow-up care, if necessary.

What is a pediatric hospitalist?

Pediatric hospitalists are doctors who devote their practice to caring for children who are hospitalized. The hospitalists at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital are board-certified pediatricians. They take care of patients who have been referred to the hospital by primary care doctors, emergency
department physicians and other subspecialty physicians. Hospitalists do not follow patients after they have been discharged from the hospital.

Why is a hospitalist caring for my child?

Your child’s primary care physician or a subspecialist may request a hospitalist be in charge of your child’s care during a hospital stay. This gives you the benefit of having your child cared for by a physician whose entire focus is caring for your hospitalized child or adolescent.

What is the relationship between the hospitalist and my child’s primary care physician?

The two groups work together. Your primary care physician provides information about your child’s medical history and the current illness to the hospitalist. The hospitalists notify your primary care physician of your child’s admission and discharge from the hospital and provide a detailed report of the treatment plan. Your child’s pediatrician can visit your child and discuss care with the hospitalist anytime during the hospital stay. At discharge, your child will be returned to the care of your primary care physician.

Our Team consists of physicians, residents, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Physicians: A physician will see your child each day to direct the treatment plan and will be available overnight to handle any problems with your child’s care.
Residents: We provide hospital-based pediatric education for family practice residents from the University of Tennessee. Working under a physician’s direct supervision, a resident may be assigned to assist in the care of your child.
Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners: Working under the supervision of the hospitalist, they may see your child daily to help with your child’s care.

What if my child needs another specialist while in the hospital?

Consultations with other doctors are sometimes necessary while your child is in the hospital. Arrangements for this can be made through the hospitalist service. If your child is already under the care of a Children’s Hospital specialist, please let us know so we can inform him or her of your
child’s admission to the hospital.