One-of-a-Kind Care in Pediatric Pulmonology

The Pediatric Pulmonology Program at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital is unique in the region,“providing extremely focused, highly skilled pediatric care for all pulmonary diagnoses,” says pediatric pulmonologist Lauren Greenawald, DO, with Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) Pediatric Pulmonology.

“For example, our Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center is the only one accredited in the Lehigh Valley. We see newborns with abnormal CF screens for further testing, and provide family guidance and follow-up care. We’re a one-stop visit.”

The majority of patients, however, are children with asthma and chronic respiratory symptoms – coughing, labored breathing and respiratory infections.

“We help assess patients through lung-function testing, monitor them at frequent intervals, prescribe medications to control symptoms and create asthma plans that are then provided to their pediatricians,” Greenawald says. “If patients should become sick later, physicians contact us and we tweak the plans. There’s constant communication; we’re like a tag team.”

Beyond treating common issues such as asthma and chronic lung disease of prematurity, the team also cares for children with other lung diseases, congenital airway malformations and children on ventilators.

“Lehigh Valley Health Network [LVHN] has the only children’s hospital in the region to have an aerodigestive team providing multidisciplinary care with GI and ENT clinicians,” Greenawald says. “A lot of our kids have neuromuscular diseases, which carry a respiratory component.”

Pediatric pulmonologist Courtney Quinlan, DO, also with LVPG Pediatric Pulmonology, brings pulmonary expertise in sleep medicine to the robust LVHN Pediatric Sleep Center. Conducting about 1,500 pediatric sleep studies annually, “we identify obstructive sleep apnea typically caused by large tonsils or adenoids, central sleep apnea due to neurologic abnormalities, and help children with insomnia and behavioral or stress-related issues – which have increased during COVID-19,” says Quinlan.

Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital's large pediatric pulmonology program boasts six clinicians (Jennifer Logan, MD; Robert Miller, MD; Michael Schwartz, MD; Pamela Prisaznik, CRNP; plus Greenawald and Quinlan), enabling swift intake of patients (callbacks within 48 hours of referral, appointments within two weeks and urgent care within 24 hours).

Physicians can refer patients through computer-based systems such as Epic, or call 888-402-LVHN.

Greenawald stresses, “We take a multidisciplinary approach and are open to discussing cases and concerns with providers. We function like a community, and that leads to better patient care.”

Quinlan says, “Our pediatric pulmonology team is highly collaborative. We go to other members of our department, and other departments, for opinions, ideas and options. Everyone goes to great lengths to provide optimum care. Patients don’t get just one doctor – they get all of us.”