Overview of Patient Care objectives and Translational Research

Since the NIH-supported Premature Research Center was established at Stanford in 1962, there has been a long, sustained commitment by the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine to the linkage of basic research to clinical and applied research. These linkages have improved the way in which premature, critically ill infants of all gestational ages including normal newborns are cared for in nursery facilities across the country. The Training Program in Developmental and Neonatal Biology stimulates intellectual cross-fertilization of scientists and clinicians throughout the School, bridging research efforts ranging from the fundamental sciences to clinical investigation. The Division has also been a participant in the NICHD Cooperative Neonatal Research Network since 1991 and has contributed to the vast majority of those studies. Presently there are over 20 clinical research protocols underway in the Division, representing nearly all major areas of newborn pathophysiology in which advances in basic science are translated into improved, innovative methods for patient care.

The Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) at Stanford is a comprehensive clinical service line, which includes obstetrical and neonatal services and provides a full continuum of care for pregnant woman and newborns. Comprehensive specialty and subspecialty clinical services for infants with the most critical conditions support this continuum. This consolidation of maternity services with newborn care was instrumental in strengthening LPCH’s ability to offer a more integrated and synergistic service that is truly family-centered. Furthermore, this merger has fostered a level of coordination and collaboration among clinical and academic departments that is truly exceptional and unique in the healthcare industry.

The mission and vision for the Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services is to bring together all perinatal services (low risk obstetrics, high risk obstetrics, genetic counseling and the perinatal diagnostic center) with neonatology and developmental medicine services into a fully integrated clinical service line and formalize the intellectual partnerships with faculty and staff dedicated to the health and well-being of mothers and infants. The Center has been created, and the services have been integrated. The continuing vision is to further develop and expand this Center, while maintaining the integrated obstetrical and neonatal model as we improve the quality of care, positively impact the academic mission and enhance the clinical programs.