Pediatric Ophthalmology Faculty Opportunity
Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology
Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children 

The Division of Ophthalmology at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children (Nemours/AIDHC), a tertiary care teaching hospital located in Wilmington, DE is seeking a board eligible/board certified pediatric ophthalmologist to join its accomplished and rapidly growing comprehensive pediatric ophthalmology program.

Position Summary

The incoming pediatric ophthalmologist will join four well-established pediatric ophthalmologists in an environment rich with stability, mentorship and collegiality. Academic appointment is made at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson through the Ophthalmology Department, Wills Eye Hospital. Nemours has a mentoring program where new attending can be matched with a transitional mentor for one year and a more permanent mentor subsequently. Located in the greater Philadelphia area, the Pediatric Ophthalmology program at Nemours/AIDHC serves as a primary referral center to one of the largest catchment populations in the United States including Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. Providers from numerous hospitals and community based practices rely on Nemours/AIDHC Ophthalmology physicians due to a strongly held conviction to provide optimal access to the highest standard of care for the full spectrum of ophthalmic disorders and injuries affecting infants, children and young adults.

In parallel with treating patients from the central mid-Atlantic area of the US, Nemours/AIDHC pediatric ophthalmologists routinely consult with attending physicians responsible for long-standing national and international referral patterns for various pediatric disorders and diseases. In parallel with the massive clinical base amassed by Nemours/AIDHC since its founding in the mid-20th Century, Nemours/AIDHC has become an international referral center for children with complex health issues including oncological and blood disorders, organ failure (heart, kidney, and liver transplant), neurodevelopmental disorders, and various genetic disorders including skeletal dysplasia. While adequate eye care is important to all children, the timely and effective provision of superior ophthalmic care is very important to children with medically complex conditions. Thus, each patient at Nemours/AIDHC is treated as required by a multi-disciplinary medical/dental healthcare team that collaborates with regular frequency regarding individualized medical treatment plans.

Nemours/AIDHC is located in one of the more inviting and picturesque settings of its sort, the result of meticulous detail to architecture and integration within the 300 acre estate of the renowned Nemours Mansion and Gardens. Access, proximity, reputation and congruence with the academic standards of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of the Thomas Jefferson University enables Nemours/AIDHC to serve as the pediatric tertiary care component for the Jefferson Health System which today consists of 1,751 inpatient beds across 5 hospitals, 9 ambulatory care centers and 4 urgent care centers.

The opportunity is ideal for the pediatric ophthalmologist interested in treating the full spectrum ophthalmic disorders requiring varying degrees of medical and surgical ophthalmic treatment. The environment is ideal for teaching, thus the presence of a Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship. Individuals interested in patient care combined with teaching and scholarship (clinical or basic research investigation), as well as individuals with subspecialty interest, should apply. Individuals at all levels of experience will be considered.

Overview of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Nemours/AIDHC
Clinical Services
The Division of Ophthalmology is organized within the Department of Surgery at Nemours/AIDHC. Board certified pediatric ophthalmologists with additional support from a full time optometrist offer comprehensive eye examinations and testing in order to diagnose and treat infant, childhood, and adolescent eye disorders and perform pediatric eye surgery as needed to treat a wide range of conditions, including:

• Amblyopia
• Blocked tear ducts and defects
• Eye injuries and trauma (including oculoplastic)
• Ocular genetics
• Pediatric glaucoma
• Pediatric cataract surgery
• Ptosis
• Retinopathy of prematurity
• Retinoblastoma
• Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and other retinal dystrophies
• Preseptal and orbital cellulitis
• Strabismus
• Uveitis
• Periocular masses
• Antenatal consultations
   

Ophthalmologists at Nemours/AIDHC are supported by a wide array of advanced retinal and optical imaging and photographic systems

• Humphrey and Goldmann Visual field testing
• Ocular ultrasonography
• Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT: Heidelberg, Bioptogen
• Electroretinogram Studies (ERG)
• Visual Evoked Potential Studies (VEP)
• Corneal Topography
• Anterior Segment Photography
• Fundus Imaging: Topcon Non-Mydriatic Retinal Imaging System, Retcam
• OIS/Merge Data Management

Network of Clinical Locations
The Nemours/AIDHC Pediatric Ophthalmology Division is distinguished by consistently providing optimized clinical access within the primary geographic area of service. Carefully coordinated physician scheduling and placement of necessary equipment and technicians enable pediatric ophthalmologists to simultaneously treat patients at numerous locations, including:

Inpatient facilities

• Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE
• St. Francis Hospital, Wilmington, DE
• Christiana Care Health Sysytem, Newark, DE
• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia
   

Ambulatory (outpatient) Centers and Surgery Centers

• Bryn Mawr, PA (adjacent to Bryn Mawr Hospital)
• Wills Eye Hospital and Surgical Center
• Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children

Retinopathy of prematurity and perinatal consults

• Bayhealth System: Kent General Hospital, Dover, DE
• Crozer –Keystone Health System: Crozer Chester Medical Center
• Delaware County Memeorial Hospital
• Mainline Health System: Lankenau Hospital, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital
• St. Francis Hospital
• Jefferson Healthcare System: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Nemours/AIDHC

Future Outpatient Clinic and Surgicenter - Nemours Deptford Siet

This clinic site is due to open mid 2016 and the incoming ophthalmologist will see patients at this site. The exact staffing is still to be determined but the applicant can expect to spens up to 2.5 – 3 days per week at this site.

Clinical Duties
Call
Call is essentially equally divided among physicians with one night per week call and weekend call, with one person taking the weekend from Friday at 3PM to Monday at 8AM. The attending physician is first call. No residents participate in call. The ER is skilled at handling most primary care eye problems and minor trauma. Evening and weekend call is typically handling phone requests for management suggestions. Urgents consultations ( r/o retinal hemorrhages, orbital cellulitis, etc) may need to be seen and significant trauma requires evaluation and treatment. This is not every call episode and is variable.

Clinical sites

• Clinical duties are divided with a rotation at AIDHC of hospital consults, ROP NICU and backup.
• Each physician has offsite assignment that are essentially equally divided.
• EPIC is the EHR (for 15 years o/p and 12 years inpt).
• Technicians are available at each site. They workup patients including doing initial documentation, control patient flow, assist in examinations and instill drops.
• There are division secretaries that perform administrative support including scheduling surgeries.

Patient Assignment
Whenever possible, patients follow with the same physician unless there are availability issues or patients preference for location, timing, etc.

Evening Hours
In order to improve patient satisfaction and access, physician will be asked to participate in late afternoon and early evening hours.

Statistics
Surgical cases: approximately 450 cases/year
O/P visits:

• AIDHC: 10, 353
• Bry Mawr: 886
• Wills: 311
   

Pediatric Ophthalmology Faculty

Sharon S. Lehman, MD
Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics
Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University
Robison D. Harley MD Endowed Chair of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Nemours
Chief, Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, Nemours/AIDHC
Chair, Ophthalmology Section, American Academy of Pediatrics
Residency: Ophthalmology, Geisinger Medical Center
Fellowship: Pediatric Ophthalmology, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
Hedwig van Amerigen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM)

Residents
Temple ophthalmology residents spend 1 month each with us during January, May and September. Wills Eye ophthalmology residents attend NICU rounds at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. There are many opportunities for lecturing to medical students, fellows and residents.

Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship Program
The Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship Program at Nemours/AIDHC, in affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, trains physicians in advanced skills in pediatric ophthalmology. The program provides comprehensive training for diagnosing and treating a wide range of ophthalmological problems, as well as those associated with other pediatric syndromes and diseases.

Training covers the diagnosis and treatment of infants and children with strabismus and many other pediatric ophthalmological problems. Fellows have exposure to pediatric patients with congenital cataracts, congenital glaucoma, oculoplastic, ROP, uveitis, neuro-ophthalmology, and other conditions. Students also receive thorough training in dealing with a wide range of eye-related problems associated with pediatric syndromes and medical diseases – including cancer, trauma, transplant, neurofibromatosis, Marfan syndrome, rheumatologic diseases, infectious diseases, and congenital abnormalities.

Pediatric Ophthalmologists at Nemours/AIDHC are required to pursue scholarly objectives. The following areas provide a high level overview of the various initiatives underway that provide valuable mentorship and resources to the ophthalmology faculty at Nemours/AIDHC.

Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG)
Pediatric Ophthalmologists at Nemours/AIDHC participate in the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG), a collaborative network dedicated to facilitating multi-center clinical research in strabismus, amblyopia and other eye disorders affecting children. The PEDIG was formed in 1997 and funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There are currently over 60 participating sites with over 120 pediatric ophthalmologists and pediatric optometrists in the US, Canada and UK.

Wills Eye Hospital Department of Research
Ophthalmology faculty at Nemours/AIDHC may participate to varying degrees within the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Ocular Genetics Service at the Wills Eye Hospital

Over 60,000 square feet of dedicated lab space is staffed with biostatisticians, epidemiologists and clinical research coordinators. Condition-specific research at Nemours falls along 7 primary areas:

• Asthma & Cystic Fibrosis
• Cancer Biomarkers & Therapeutics
• Diabetes & Obesity
• Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) in Children
• Neurodevelopmental & Musculoskeletal Disease
• MSK/Neurodevelopmental Research
• Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) in Children
• Translational Research at Nemours
• Translational research at Nemours falls into 1 of 4 primary areas:

Asthma & Cystic Fibrosis
Work in asthma and CF research is concentrated in two large centers: The Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research (CPTR), headed by John J. Lima, PharmD and The Center for Pediatric Lung Research (CPLR), headed by Thomas H. Shaffer, MSE, PhD.

Cancer Biomarkers & Therapeutics
Work in cancer biomarkers and therapeutics is organized within the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (NCCBD), a pediatric cancer center that includes clinical and pediatric cancer research programs at the Nemours/ duPont, Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando and the Nemours Children’s Clinics in Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola, Fla. Each location has been recognized for having outstanding participation in clinical trials, and for clinical trial access and management.

Many Nemours patients participate in clinical trials of one type or other — in 2011 and 2012, for example, 60% of new cancer patients were enrolled into clinical trials. Research affiliations with the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers, including the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, DE.

Diabetes & Obesity
Diabetes and obesity have much in common: as chronic health conditions that are often linked, often preventable and considered to be epidemic. Nemours researchers and specialists at pediatric labs in the Delaware Valley and Florida investigate diabetes, obesity, growth and nutrition from several perspectives — including biological, genetic and behavioral.

Neurodevelopmental & Musculoskeletal Disease
Nemours researchers in the Delaware Valley and Florida are leading the effort to develop life-changing technologies that help children with musculoskeletal diseases — like skeletal dysplasia, scoliosis, cerebral palsy and others — experience the world more independently. At the same time, Nemours researchers are gaining new insights into the causes of many neurodevelopmental disorders and new ways to treat them.

Neurodevelopmental Research
Nemours is an international leader in research on neurodevelopmental and musculoskeletal (orthopedic) disorders in children. Nemours has several world-class pediatric labs in the Delaware Valley and Florida working to help children with musculoskeletal diseases like skeletal dysplasia, scoliosis, cerebral palsy and more.

The Center for Orthopedics Research and Development (CORD) is a leading international pediatric biomedical research center in Orthopedics. The labs within the Center for Pediatric Auditory and Speech Sciences (CPASS) focus their work on clinical applications that bear immediate relevance for children with congenital and acquired neurological, neuromuscular, and anatomical disorders.

In 2013, Robert Akins, PhD, FAHA, and Nemour’s Director of the Center for Pediatric Clinical Research and Development and Head of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research, was recognized as “Neuroscientist of the Year” by the Delaware Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Akins was honored for his contributions to neuroscience in the state and for his success at winning multi-million dollar funding for his neuroscience research investigating neuromuscular defects related to cerebral palsy. Dr. Akins’ research team has identified multiple micro-anatomic, molecular, and pharmacologic differences in the peripheral neuromotor system of children with CP. These differences may represent new avenues for therapy and diagnostics. Funding for the research has come from Nemours, from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and from the Swank Foundation. Dr. Akins was further recognized for organizing a highly successful neuroscience retreat which was held at the A. I. duPont Hospital on May 23, 2013. The retreat brought together over 100 neuroscientists for talks, posters, and networking sessions and was focused on fostering translational research. Dr. Akins also represents neuroscience researchers on a team working to integrate research programs into the Nemours Center for Neuroscience; he sits on the advisory board for the NIH-COBRE-funded Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research; and directs the Mentoring, Education, and Career Development Core for the Delaware CTR Accel Program.

Dr. Akins leads the research component of the Nemours Neuroscience Center which is presently focused on 4 key areas:

Today, Nemours has grown to become one of the nation’s largest integrated pediatric health systems in the country; providing hospital- and clinic-based specialty care, primary care, prevention and health information services, and research and medical education programs aimed at improving the lives of children and families throughout the Delaware Valley and in Florida. Nemours/AIDHC is under the fiduciary management of The Nemours Foundation. The Foundation operates the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware; the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando’s Medical City; and Nemours Children’s Clinics in Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania & New Jersey. The foundation also sponsors the KidsHealth website, which provides information about the health, behavior, and development of children from birth to adulthood. The site has different content sections for children, teenagers and parents; approximately 850,000 people visit the link every weekday.

As one of the nation’s premier pediatric health care systems, Nemours provides world-class clinical care in four states: Delaware, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Located in Wilmington, Delaware, the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children offers intensive and acute inpatient and outpatient services covering more than 30 pediatric specialties. Ranked among the nation’s best in pediatric specialty care by U.S. News & World Report, this world-renowned teaching hospital has served children from 42 states and 14 nations. Extending the world-class care of the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital, Nemours duPont Pediatrics provides expert care for even more children across the Delaware Valley through community-based physician services and collaborative partnerships with health and hospital systems.

To keep pace with the changing health care environment and build a healthier future for our children, Nemours embarked on a multi-phase expansion to create a children’s hospital like no other in the region. After completion in October 2014, the hospital includes private patient rooms, a new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a new expanded Emergency Department.

Nemours, one of the nation’s leading pediatric health systems, has been recognized again by U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) for being among the best children’s health systems in the nation in the 2014-15 edition of Best Children’s Hospitals. In the latest rankings, Nemours duPont Hospital was ranked in all 10 specialties including: cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & GI surgery, neonatology, neurology & neurosurgery, nephrology, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology. This is the first time the hospital has been ranked in all 10 specialties. Additional ranking information follows:

• Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children is one of only 20 children’s hospitals in the nation ranked in all 10 specialties by U.S. News & World Report
• Ranked one of the 9 Top Children’s Hospitals in the US by Leapfrog in 2014 – The Leapfrog Top Hospital designation, which is the most competitive national hospital quality award in the country, recognizes hospitals that deliver the highest quality care by preventing medical errors, reducing mortality for high-risk procedures like heart bypass surgery, and reducing hospital readmissions for patients being treated for conditions like pneumonia and heart attack
• Delaware’s only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center
   

Nemours Hospital Rankings
Pediatric Patient Care

• Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children was awarded the Elite Distinction as one of 9 Leapfrog Group’s Top Children’s Hospitals in the country in 2014, recognizing exceptional quality and patient safety
• Excellent quality and safety outcomes, including hospital readmissions for asthma, patient survival rates and surgical infection prevention

Health Information & Technology

The building itself is broken into clusters of eight rooms in a neighborhood configuration on each unit, supported by individual team stations and separate medication and storage rooms. All floors include public and staff traffic thoroughfares to control noise and improve infection control.
The hospital expansion includes a new 4-bed epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) replete with present day technologies and expertise to support a robust inpatient epilepsy program. Another hallmark of the project is an expanded emergency department that nearly doubles the size of the existing hospital’s capacity. The zoned emergency department houses 44 care rooms, including 24 acute exam rooms, nine observation rooms, nine fast-track rooms, and two trauma rooms. Like the inpatient rooms, ED exam rooms feature distinct patient, family, and caregiver zones, with sliding glass doors to provide both privacy and clear sight lines for staff.

Nemours Orlando

In October 2013, Nemours celebrated the opening of the Delaware hospital’s sister-facility, the 650,000 square feet Nemours Children’s Hospital, located on the Lake Nona medical campus in Orlando, Florida. The opening of the new, $380 million hospital in Orlando made Nemours the only pediatric health system in the nation with two freestanding children’s hospitals.

Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College

In 1825, Jefferson became the first medical college in the country to establish a clinic. Standard medical school curricula then consisted solely of lectures, making Jefferson an innovator in combining patient care with formal education. By 1877, the clinic had become the Jefferson Medical College Hospital, the second hospital In the United States to be directly associated with a medical school.

Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), the largest freestanding academic medical center in Philadelphia, is nationally renowned for medical and health sciences education and innovative research. Thomas Jefferson University includes the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC), one of the largest private medical schools in the country and ranked among the nation’s best medical schools by U.S. News & World Report, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Jefferson Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions, and Population Health. Jefferson University Physicians is TJU’s multi-specialty physician practice consisting of the full-time faculty of SKMC. Thomas Jefferson University partners with its clinical affiliate, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals.

Nemours collaborates with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJU) to extend advanced round-the-clock pediatric care to children and families in the Philadelphia area. The Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has an array of on-site pediatric specialty care and resources available, including: a dedicated pediatric suite, staffed around-the-clock by a team of Nemours pediatric hospitalists; a Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staffed by Nemours’ neonatologists.

Location – Wilmington, DE

Over 100 million people live and work within a 350 mile radius of Wilmington. A conservative estimate for the pediatric catchment population including Delaware, Philadelphia and south New Jersey is estimated at 5 million people. Wilmington is often referred to as the “corporate capital of the world”, due to the fact that over 50% of all Fortune 500 companies call Wilmington their corporate home.

Proximity to Philadelphia
Transportation links and geographic proximity give Wilmington some of the characteristics of a satellite city to Philadelphia, but Wilmington’s long history as Delaware’s principal city, its urban core, and its independent value as a business destination makes it more properly considered a small but independent city in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Beaches
Delaware’s nationally top rated beaches are within a 2 hour drive. Dewey and Rehoboth Beach has been recognized as two of the nation’s cleanest beaches by the Natural Resources Defense council. Bethany Beach was named one of the top 10 Best Beaches for Families by Family Vacation Critic and is known as one of the “Best Secret Beaches” by Travel + Leisure Magazine.

Business Economy
Wilmington is home to one Fortune 500 company, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. In addition, the city is the corporate domicile of more than 50% of the publicly traded companies in the United States, and over 60% of the Fortune 500. Much of Wilmington’s economy is based on its status as the most populous and readily accessible city in Delaware, a state that made itself attractive to corporations with business-friendly financial laws and a longstanding reputation for a fair and effective judicial system. Wilmington has become a national financial center for the credit card industry, largely due to regulations enacted by former Governor Pierre S. du Pont, IV in 1981.

Credit Card Industry
Many major credit card issuers, including Bank of America (formerly MBNA Corporation), Chase Card Services (part of JPMorgan Chase & Co., formerly Bank One/First USA), and Barclays Bank of Delaware (formerly Juniper Bank), are headquartered in Wilmington.

Banking Industry
The Dutch banking giant ING Groep N.V. headquartered its U.S. internet banking unit, ING Direct (now Capital One 360), in Wilmington. The United Kingdom’s HSBC has their American operations headquartered in Wilmington. Wilmington Trust is headquartered in Wilmington at Rodney Square. Barclays and Capital One 360 have very large and prominent locations located along the waterfront of the Christina River.

Insurance Industry
Wilmington’s other notable industries include insurance (American Life Insurance Company [ALICO], Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Delaware), retail banking (including the Delaware headquarters of: Wilmington Trust, PNC Bank, Wachovia Bank, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Citizens Bank, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, and Artisans’ Bank), and legal services.