Children's Mercy Opens Clinics In St. Joseph
Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - JANUARY 7, 2013 -Â Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics is expanding its presence in St. Joseph, Mo. Although Children's Mercy has had outreach clinics in St. Joseph for the last 20 years, this is the first permanent location, housed on the campus of Heartland Regional Medical Center.
"We've heard from both doctors and families that their patients want access to the expertise of Children's Mercy without travel to Kansas City," said Marshaun Butler, Vice President, Children's Mercy South and Regional Medical Practices. "This move supports our commitment to meeting the needs of children in St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri, in partnership with the outstanding St. Joseph medical community. We value that partnership and feel our services will complement the existing pediatric services already available in this area."
Two outreach clinics, Children's Mercy Cardiology and Endocrinology, are expanding and relocating to new space under the name Children's Mercy Kansas City-Heartland Specialty Clinics. The clinics will now be offered at 802 N. Riverside Road, Suite 105, St. Joseph, on the campus of the Heartland Regional Medical Center. Those outreach clinics were previously located nearby at Lakeside Pediatrics.
 Both the Cardiology Clinic, provided by William Drake, MD, MS, and the Endocrinology Clinic, with Joseph Cernich, MD, Sripriya Raman, MD, and Figen Ugrasbul, MD, began seeing patients in the new year. In addition, plans are under way to establish an Asthma/Allergy telemedicine clinic with Jay Portnoy, MD, Division Director, Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Office. Other clinics, including Gastroenterology and Weight Management, are under consideration.
"We are excited to partner with the region's premier pediatric medical center to bring these services close to home," said Dirck Clark, Chief Strategy Officer. "Our goal is to ensure we can provide our patients with the best in pediatric specialty care, so this partnership made a lot of sense."
The new Children's Mercy facilities, located in the Plaza 1 building on the Heartland Campus, include four exam rooms (three standard exam rooms and one telemedicine room); a height and weight room; a medication room; and a staff area.
The Children's Mercy Endocrinology and Cardiology departments are rated among the best in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Children's Mercy offers more than 20 outreach clinics in nine locations throughout Missouri and Kansas. Through telemedicine, the goal is to further expand access in additional specialties.
 About Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, located in Kansas City, Mo., is one of the nation's top pediatric medical centers. The 351-bed hospital provides care for children from birth through the age of 21, and has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals." For the third time in a row, Children's Mercy has achieved Magnet nursing designation, awarded to fewer than seven percent of all hospitals nationally, for excellence in quality care. Its faculty of 600 pediatricians and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. For more information about Children's Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org or download our mobile phone app CMH4YOU for all phone types. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
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