Dr. Patrick Burke, MD, Valley Children’s Healthcare medical director for adult care and transition. “When you have that kind of focus and that kind of mission, you take steps to go the extra mile and to bring people the best and not accept anything else, and that’s what this program is all about.” The program currently operates in medical offices in Hanford and Selma, with plans to expand south. Dr. Raul Ayala, ambulatory medical officer at Adventist Health Central Valley Network, said that the program brings comfort and hope to parents across the Valley whose children with complex health conditions are aging out of pediatric care.

Complex care is getting a makeover, this time with a partnership between Adventist Health and Valley Children’s Healthcare.

The two health systems launched a program in 2018 to provide a seamless transition of services to children with complex health conditions — namely, ones who have aged out of pediatric care. Now the health systems are looking to expand their footprint south of Hanford and Selma, where the program currently operates. 

The Complex Care Clinic at Adventist Health offers the Valley’s sickest 1% of patients a safe place to go. Many of these patients’ conditions include neurological conditions, genetic disorders and complex chronic conditions that require specialty care. 

Through the program, pediatric specialists at Valley Children’s share their patients’ medical records with Adventist Health providers as they transition from pediatric care to adult care. Pediatricians also take part in multidisciplinary meetings with Adventist Health physicians to discuss the patient’s care before they see their new doctor.

“Our two organizations are here for the Valley, and we both have deeply-felt missions for the people here in the Central Valley,” said Dr. Patrick Burke, MD, Valley Children’s Healthcare medical director for adult care and transition. “When you have that kind of focus and that kind of mission, you take steps to go the extra mile and to bring people the best and not accept anything else, and that’s what this program is all about.”

Dr. Raul Ayala, ambulatory medical officer at Adventist Health Central Valley Network, said that the program brings comfort and hope to parents across the Valley whose children with complex health conditions are aging out of pediatric care. 

“There’s a lot of people who are suffering and wondering: ‘What am I going to do with my child once they get older?’” Dr. Ayala said. “We now have an answer.”