When a child is diagnosed with something serious – a heart defect, seizures or a rare blood disorder – parents already have more to worry about than they ever imagined. Adding hours of travel for specialized care can make a frightening situation even harder. But, increasingly in Coastal North Carolina, families no longer have to make that trip.

Five years into a partnership between Novant Health, UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine, more pediatric specialists are now caring for children in the region than ever before, giving families faster access to expert care when they need it most.

Since 2021, the Novant Health UNC Children’s partnership has brought together experts to provide more options for children to receive specialized care at local doctor’s appointments and during hospital stays.

“The partnership elevates the care by delivering it closer to home in a community setting,” said Joshua Tucker, vice president of surgical services operations and orthopedics at Novant Health. “And to have that support for our kids locally is something our community deserves.”

That support includes a dedicated team of doctors and nurses who specialize in treating children at the Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital, part of Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. This allows the hospital to care for more children needing surgery or advanced care, including newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit and children in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Tucker, a former senior director of women’s and children’s services for the Coastal region, explains what’s driving expanded specialty care for the youngest patients.

About how many people work on the pediatric care team, and how many children do they see?

More than 200 team members and providers across our community are dedicated to pediatric specialty care. This includes doctors, surgeons, registered nurses, nursing assistants and advanced practice practitioners. The team is responsible for about 40,000 children’s healthcare visits a year.

Right now, the specialties with the highest number of patients are pediatric cardiology, pediatric neurology, pediatric pulmonology and pediatric gastroenterology.

Was specialty care inadequate before this partnership?

It was available but not to the level the community needed. We had one pediatric cardiologist in our community, but have three now. We’ve also brought in more pediatric neurologists, gastrointestinal doctors and advanced practice providers.

For a family wanting reassurance that everything is fine with their child’s health, having specialty services available within a reasonable timeframe is absolutely critical.

Where is the most growth in pediatric specialty care?

One of our new and evolving areas is pediatric urology and urologic surgery. We now have one of the top pediatric urologists in the state providing surgical and clinical services here locally. In 2024, urologist Dr. Sherry Ross started traveling from Chapel Hill our pediatric clinic at Autumn Hall two days a month. That has expanded to 10 days a month.

Other than better patient access, what else has this partnership improved for the community?

Overall, it means having a trusted partner that can help bring more pediatric specialists to the community and support them once they’re here, so families have better access to expert care for their children. The partnership connects parents to a broader network of specialized care, so families can get the care their children need locally instead of traveling for hours to larger cities. Now, we can diagnose and treat complex issues right here in our neighborhood.

This must be humbling to see every day.

It is. I have two boys, aged 13 and 9. There’s peace of mind as a parent, knowing that if something happens — whether it’s an acute injury or a diagnosis — there is no stress of driving to another city for specialty care. You don’t realize you need it until you need it. And when you need it, you are so grateful that it’s here, close to home.