St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
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Department of Pediatrics



When your child or your patient needs a pediatrician, you can feel good about turning to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. For the 100+ physicians, there is no calling more fulfilling than helping children get well. Every physician on our Department of Pediatrics staff is board certified in pediatrics or other subspecialties and serves on the faculty of Drexel University College of Medicine.

 

At St. Christopher's we are proud to offer a unified, collaborative approach to treating every child who comes to us or is referred to us for expert care. All of the physicians, nurses and support staff working within the Department of Pediatrics' various sections cooperate closely with each other and with referring physicians, patients and their families. Our physicians also are actively involved in medical education, community service, advocacy and research in the advancement of medicine.

 

Section of Allergy

Section of Cardiology

Section of Clinical Genetics and Dysmorphology

Section of Critical Care

Section of Developmental Pediatrics

Section of Endocrinology and Diabetes

Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

 

 

Section of Allergy

 

The Section of Allergy provides comprehensive consultative services, including immediate and long-term care, for the evaluation and treatment of children with a wide spectrum of allergic diseases. The staff treats children with a variety of allergic conditions, including acute and chronic asthma, chronic cough, recurrent respiratory infections, allergic rhinitis, urticaria and drug hypersensitivity. The staff has a special interest in bronchial asthma. Services for all age groups, including infants, are: 

  • Pulmonary function studies
  • Drug allergy testing
  • Food challenge studies
  • Insect allergy testing
  • Immunotherapy

 

Appointments: 215-427-8800

 

Jack M. Becker, MD

Chief, Section of Allergy

Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: Temple University School of Medicine

Special Training:

Residency: Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital,

Cleveland, OH

Fellowship: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Staff Appointment: 2002

Special Interests: Asthma and how it relates to activity in children, the competitive athlete

 

Appointments: 215-427-8800

 

Section of Cardiology

 

The Section of Cardiology provides comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of infants, children and adolescents with congenital or acquired heart disease. The pediatric cardiology services are provided at the Heart Center for Children at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and satellite pediatric cardiology outpatient facilities. The diagnostic services are provided for patients with cardiac dysrythmias, congenital cardiovascular malformations, acquired heart disease, hyperlipidemia and systemic hypertension.

 

Nonsurgical correction of certain cardiovascular malformations is provided by experts in interventional cardiology. Surgical correction of pediatric cardiovascular diseases and complex cardiovascular malformations of newborns and young infants are provided by a team of surgeons with expertise in pediatric cardiovascular surgery. Outpatient services are provided in clinics for cardiovascular disease of infants, children, and young adults with congenital cardiovascular disease: 

  • Arrhythmia and syncope clinics
  • Hyperlipidemia clinic
  • Cardiovascular surgical clinic 

Noninvasive laboratories offer: 

  • Echocardiography laboratories for transthoracic, transesophageal and prenatal echocardiology
  • Ambulatory electrocardiography monitoring (Holter monitoring), transtelephonic event, electrocardiography monitoring, and pacemaker monitoring
  • Exercise physiology and exercise electrocardiography
  • Tilt table testing
  • Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (cine MRI and MRA)

Invasive procedures include:

 

  • Diagnostic cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography
  • Interventional cardiac catheterization for balloon valvuloplasty and angioplasty
  • Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus and abnormal vessels using coils and devices
  • Transcatheter closure of arterial septal defect, PFO and fenestrations using the Amplatzer Device
  • Stent placement for correction of arterial and venous obstructions
  • Transcatheter ablation to cure cardiac and rhythm disturbances

John Murphy, MD

Chief, Section of Cardiology

Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: University of Vermont, College of Medicine, Burlington, VT

Special Training:

Residency: Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Fellowship: Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Boston, MA

Staff Appointment: 2005

Special Interests: Interventional cardiology

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

Richard Kardon, DO

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, (UMDNJ), New Brunswick, NJ

Special Training:

Residency: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Fellowship: Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Staff Appointment: 1999

Special Interests: Echocardiography

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

Nandini Madan, MBBS, MD

Clinical Instructor, Cardiology

 

Medical School: Maulana Azud Medical College, New Delhi, India

Special Training:

Residency: Maulana Azad Medical College and LNJP Hospital, India; The Children's Hospital of New Jersey, Newark, NJ

Fellowship: Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Staff Appointment: 1999

Special Interests: Echocardiography, electrophysiology

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

C. Igor Mesia, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: Universidad Peruana Cavetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

Special Training:

Residency: Children’s Hospital at the University of Texas, Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

Fellowship: Medical College of Virginia and the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

Staff Appointment: 2004

Special Interests: Cardiac catheterization

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

Anna C. O’Riordan, MD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: Hahnemann Medical College

Special Training:

Residency: St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

Fellowship: St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

Staff Appointment: 1961

Special Interests: Clinical cardiology, advanced cardiac life support

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

Mary C. Sokoloski, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Special Training:

Residency: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Fellowship: Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Cleveland, OH; Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Staff Appointment: 1996

Special Interests: Pediatric electrophysiology

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

R. Lee Vogel, MD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; CMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School,

Piscataway, NJ

Special Training:

Residency: St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

Fellowship: St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

Staff Appointment: 2002

Special Interests: Clinical pediatric cardiology

 

Appointments: 215-427-4820

 

 

Section of Clinical Genetics and Dysmorphology

 

The Section of Clinical Genetics and Dysmorphology provides comprehensive genetic evaluations of patients with birth defects, developmental delay, suspected genetic abnormalities, family histories of genetic disorders and adult onset genetic diseases. Advanced testing facilities available at St. Christopher’s include a cytogenetics laboratory.

 

For more information or to make an appointment, please call 215-427-8413.

 

Carol E. Anderson, MD

Chief, Section of Clinical Genetics and Dysmorphology

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

Special Training:

Residency: Case Western Reserve,

Cleveland, OH

Fellowship: UCLA School of Medicine, Torrance, CA

Staff Appointment: 1997

Special Interests: Genetic evaluation and counseling for families with members afflicted with neurologic disorders, developmental disabilities, malformations, other chronic diseases

 

Appointments: 215-427-8413

 

Section of Critical Care

 

The Section of Critical Care is staffed by pediatric intensivists who provide medical direction of the acute and intermediate intensive care units. The pediatric intensivists staff the critical care service and provide either primary or concurrent care within these units. The pediatric intensivists work closely with other specialists, house staff, pediatric critical care nurses, pediatric respiratory therapists, pediatric social workers and pediatric rehabilitation specialists who meet the needs of the entire family after a critical illness, trauma or operative procedure.

 

 

Glenn Stryjewski, MD, MPH

Interim Clinical Director of Critical Care

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY

Special Training:

Masters in Public Health: The George Washington School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Washington, DC

Residency: St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

Fellowship: Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC

Staff Appointment: 2004

Special Interests: Intensive pediatric critical care

 

Office: 215-425-5220

 

Sharon F. Calaman, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

Medical School: New York State University School of Medicine, Brooklyn, NY

Special Training:

Residency: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY

Fellowship: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY

Staff Appointment: 2005

Special Interests: Pediatric critical care

 

Office: 215-427-5220

 

Christine Schlichting, MD

Department of Critical Care

Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

 

Medical School: University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, Portland, OR

Special Training:

Residency: Universit