Atrium Health expands pediatric transplant program through partnership with Pittsburgh children's hospital

Atrium Health has teamed up with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to broaden its pediatric liver transplant program in North Carolina.

The partnership is between Atrium's Levine Children's Hospital and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. It expands Levine Children's Hospital's ability to perform liver transplants in infants and toddlers. To do so, Levine's hepatology and transplant teams will work with the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children’s Hospital. The UPMC team has performed more than 1,800 pediatric liver transplants, more than any other center in the United States, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Stacy Nicholson, president of Levine Children’s, said in a press release that the partnership will allow the hospital to provide a wider, more innovative scope of transplant care while keeping patients local from start to finish.

Charlotte-based Atrium Health, which is a part of Advocate Health, began pediatric liver transplants in July 2000. Levine Children's houses the Charlotte region's only pediatric transplant program.

“By partnering with the team of experts at UPMC Children’s, which we recognize as pioneers in the pediatric liver transplant space, we can further expand those positive outcomes for the patients and families who trust us to continuously provide top-tier care," said Vincent Casingal, surgical director for abdominal transplant at Levine Children’s.

Atrium continues to invest heavily in pediatric care, delivering Torrey Hemby Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders last July. That pediatric outpatient treatment center is inside Atrium Health Medical Center Plaza. The health-care system also broke ground last July on a 24-bed pediatric intensive care unit at Levine Children's that will add to the hospital's current 20-bed PICU floor. It's slated to deliver later this year.