Page 8 - Christiana Care Focus October 2018

Cover Story | CenterforSpecialHealthCareNeeds C O N T I N U E D
Ernesto Figueroa, M.D.
Transitioning children with complex urological conditions to adult providers has been a very difficult challenge in our state, but also across the nation,” said Ernesto Figueroa, M.D., a specialist in pediatric urology and urologic surgery in practice at Nemours/ Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children.
“The urologists at Nemours have worked with many adult urologists in the community to transition individual patients to adult care,” he said. But, until now, “a systematic, well-organized program was lacking for children who have undergone complex urinary tract reconstruction in childhood, and who have been cared for by the pediatric urologists in many cases since birth,” he said.
“As they reach 18 years of age, there had been a significant lack of dedicated and knowledgeable adult providers who can continue to manage these complex congenital urinary tract anomalies.
“With Andrew Glick, M.D., the urology program director at the Center for Special Health Care Needs, and an experienced adult urologist, we can now establish access to care and expertise for these patients, and address the ongoing urological needs of patients with cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury as well.” 
BRIGITTE’S JOURNEY
Quest for comprehensive adult cerebral palsy care leads to Wilmington Hospital
Terri Hancharick and her daughter, Brigitte, 31, are used to working hard to achieve a normal existence, stay engaged with her five brothers and enjoy all the activities and fun that life has to offer.
But for the mother and daughter engaged in the daily challenges of life with cerebral palsy (CP), they’ve spent much of their lives focused not just on helping themselves, but also helping the many other families for whom CP makes life a steady uphill
climb. They’ve been key partners in the development of Christiana Care’s CP program at the Center for Special Health Care Needs.
It’s been 10 years since Brigitte was able to receive care at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Age 21 is the cutoff for patients to be treated at the pediatric hospital.
Hancharick still has the highest praise for Freeman Miller, M.D., who performed surgery on Bridgette
11 times while she was under his care at Nemours, but “when Brigitte turned 21, she still had the same needs as when she was 3 — but no support in
the medical community for Brigitte’s complicated orthopaedic needs,” she said.
6 CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM