Cape Cod is correctly seen as a retirement community where geriatric specialists abound. But we’ve got families with young children, too, and they also require the kind of treatment offered by the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape & Islands (RHCI).
A lot of treatment, as a matter of fact.
That’s why, a little more than a year after opening its doors, the RHCI for Children-Eileen M. Ward Rehabilitation Center has expanded to make room for specialty clinics. The clinics are offered monthly by pediatric specialists from MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Cardiology and Pulmonary Clinics began in October, joining the Gastroenterology Clinic which started last spring. In addition, neuropsychological services are offered at the Center every Monday.
Dr. Ana Maria Rosales conducts the Cardiac Clinic on the fourth Friday of the month. Services include EKGs (electrocardiograms), echocardiograms, and dispensing of event monitors, which are used to evaluate disorders in heart rhythm.
“I’ll be seeing children with heart murmurs, palpitations, chest pain and those with fainting episodes,” says Dr. Rosales. “We also screen children for heart disease when there is sudden death in a family member.”
Dr. Rosales will be treating children with both congenital and acquired heart disease. “About 1 in 125 children is born with some form of heart defect,” she says. “The major ones are usually diagnosed early in childhood.” Acquired heart disease can show up at any age but is often first identified in during adolescence.
The Pulmonary Clinic is conducted by Dr. Ngoc Phuong Ly, who specializes in the treatment of asthma and immune deficiencies, recurrent respiratory infections, sleep-related breathing problems, and neuromuscular disorders leading to chronic lung problems. The Pulmonary Clinic is offered the fourth Monday of each month.
According to Dr. Ly, asthma and allergies are the most common chronic childhood diseases, affecting 12 and 9 percent of children respectively.