Many specialties, one team at Le Bonheur.
Nursing Team
A nurse practitioner has advanced education and training that extends beyond a registered nurse. They collaborate with your child’s doctor to evaluate, diagnose and treat children in certain areas of the hospital.
A registered nurse will make sure your child receives the care that he or she needs. Because your child receives care 24 hours a day, different nurses will work with your child during your stay. There is a nurse leader on each shift who can answer any questions about your child’s care.
A patient care assistant cares for the daily living and safety needs of the patient. He or she helps the nurse by performing various patient care duties, such as changing bed linens and weighing patients.
A patient care coordinator is a registered nurse who supervises daily care in the unit.
Each patient floor has a clinical director. He or she is responsible for all operations on the floor, including to delivery of care for each child and the environment on the floor.
Physician Team
Your attending physician is your child’s regular doctor or a Le Bonheur staff doctor focused on the medical care of your child while in the hospital. He or she directs the child’s health care team on a daily basis.
A resident physician is a doctor receiving further training in pediatrics. Resident physicians staff the hospital 24 hours a day. An intern is a resident who has graduated from medical school and is in the first year of training.
A pediatric specialist is a doctor who works in certain areas of children’s health care, like cardiology or endocrinology. A resident fellow physician is a medical doctor who has completed training in pediatrics and is receiving additional training in a specialty, like cardiology or endocrinology. Find a Le Bonheur doctor.
An anesthesiologist is a doctor trained to help your child sleep safely during surgery or a procedure.
A hospitalist, a pediatrician that specializes in caring for children in the hospital setting, will work with your child's pediatrician and other providers to deliver coordinated and comprehensive hospital care.
Medical Response Team
This team is made up of medical professionals. As a family member, you can call this team if your child is in a non-critical care area and you feel there is a serious change in your child’s condition. If you are concerned, have addressed those concerns with your child’s care team and still do not feel that everything is being done for your child, you have the option of calling the Medical Response Team. This team will come to your child’s bedside to address your child’s needs. Tell them your child needs to see the Medical Response Team.
Support Team
Social workers can be reached 24-hours-a-day to support you and your family during your child’s illness. They may also help with plans for home care services after you leave Le Bonheur and can help you find community resources. Ask your doctor or nurse to contact them for any needs you may have.
Case managers help to coordinate the care of your child throughout his or her hospital stay. They work closely with nurses and social workers to ensure that your child is receiving the level of care he or she needs.
Rehabilitation is a special area at Le Bonheur that uses exercise, activities and equipment to help your child get better. The Rehab staff works with all types of patients and includes physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and audiologists.
Pharmacists are available 24-hours-a-day and help ensure safe and effective use of medication in children, as well as promote health, wellness and disease prevention. Our specially trained pediatric pharmacists work with physicians and other health care professionals to determine the best medication regimen and monitoring plan for your child. Intensive care areas have their own satellite pharmacies, with pharmacists specializing in care for patients in these areas.
Clinical nutritionists or dietitians evaluate your child for any special dietary or nutritional needs. They work with you to be sure your child receives proper nutritional care while at Le Bonheur. If a special diet is needed when your child gets home, they will give you instructions to follow and refer you to other outside resources.
A trained lactation consultant is also part of the team to help the breastfeeding mother and baby. This consultant offers support, special equipment or supplies, if needed. Ask your nurse for assistance.
Respiratory therapists work throughout the hospital providing breathing treatments or other respiratory services to patients.
Phlebotomists have received extensive training on how to collect blood samples from pediatric patients. Depending on the test that your child’s physician orders and the amount and type of specimen required, the phlebotomist will select the best method to collect the sample. This may be a venipuncture, a finger stick or in some cases, a heel stick.
Members of our technical support staff are specially trained in areas of radiology, EEG, EKG and echo and perform tests that will provide your child’s doctor with information pertaining to your child’s diagnosis.
Chaplains provide spiritual care and counseling services to parents, children, family and friends and are available 24 hours a day to offer support, prayer and comfort. If you would like to request a chaplain, contact (901) 287-5277.
The ethics consultation team is available to help should an ethical question arise that involves your child’s treatment. Please contact the chaplain from inside the hospital at (901) 418-4022 and an ethics team member will be in contact with you.
Volunteers are available to provide respite care. Respite care is a free service provided for your child if you need to leave the hospital. A trained hospital volunteer will sit with your child for two to three hours and interact and play with your child when possible.
Our certified Child Life Department uses play, art and music to help children overcome their fears and deal with their questions and emotions. Child life specialists are trained to comfort families during their stay, and are assigned to each unit in the hospital. Child Life also helps prepare siblings for visits with their hospitalized brother or sister to help answer any questions they may have.
Parent mentors are trained Le Bonheur parents who are effective managers of their own child’s health care. They provide peer support, coping strategies, partnership with the health care team, offer suggestions for navigating the journey and the parent’s role in his or her child’s care. They are available to talk with families about topics like coordinating family life during hospitalization, working effectively with your health care team, grieving, taking your child home and normalizing life after discharge. To see if a parent mentor is available in your child’s area, ask your nurse.
Environmental Services staff will clean your room each day. The Engineering Department services anything that might not be working properly in your child’s room, like the television or telephone.
School teachers are available to help keep your child on track while in the hospital. If your child needs this service, talk to a member of your care team.
