When Dr. Sung Min Park, co-director of the Children's Specialists Pulmonology Division, joined Rady Children's Hospital in 1976, he was the sole pediatric pulmonologist on staff. Today, the division has grown to six pulmonologists who diagnose and treat children with respiratory diseases. The division's large outpatient clinic on Children's campus treats patients Monday through Friday. Pulmonology also collaborates with respiratory care practitioners who provide respiratory care around the clock, seven days a week, for inpatients.

After Rady Children's and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) merged their pediatric services in 2001, Dr. Mark Pian joined the division as co-director. He is also the director of the UCSD/Rady Children's Cystic Fibrosis Center, which is the only accredited cystic fibrosis facility in San Diego and Imperial counties (see story on page 4).

The division focuses on four areas of treatment for respiratory diseases. The general pediatric pulmonary service provides care for children with a variety of respiratory illnesses, including difficult bronchial asthma, persistent cough, apnea in infancy, severe pneumonias and chronic lung disease of prematurity.

The Cystic Fibrosis Center is a shared service with UCSD. Children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis receive ongoing care at Rady Children's Cystic Fibrosis Clinic. When they transition into adulthood, cystic fibrosis patients are followed at UCSD's Thornton Hospital.

Children who have obstructive sleep apnea are diagnosed and treated in the sleep-related respiratory disorders program. Those children who experience breathing problems during sleep undergo a study in Rady Children's sleep laboratory, which is under the supervision of Dr. Meerana Lim. Community physicians can refer patients to the sleep lab for evaluation through the Pulmonology Clinic. Children who are very ill and dependent upon ventilators to breathe benefit from the division's home ventilation program. They may be cared for in the comfort of their own home with the help of a team of respiratory professionals.

Pulmonology is also involved with the care of children who have tracheostomy tubes. Children's Convalescent Hospital (CCH) has recently opened a sub-acute unit where these patients can be admitted. The division will work closely with CCH in their ventilator and tracheostomy care program.

In 2002, with demand for pulmonology services increasing rapidly, Dr. Linda Colombini and Dr. Meerana Lim were recruited as attending pulmonologists. Dr. Gabriel Haddad, a world-renowned respiratory researcher, joined the division this fall along with Dr. Julie Ryu. Haddad will continue his research at UCSD and Dr. Ryu will spend 70 percent of her time doing basic respiratory research. A major mission for the division is the training of medical students, interns and residents. The division also provides continuing medical education in pulmonary diseases to community physicians through lectures at Rady Children's and local hospitals.

As referrals continued to increase throughout the three county area, Pulmonology established outreach clinics at Rady Children's satellite sites in El Centro, Encinitas and Murrieta. Pulmonology operates two half-day clinics a month for each site (see Pulmonary Division for referral information). "I am proud that our division has made San Diego a better place to live for children with serious respiratory illnesses," says Dr. Park. "We have made patient access to quality care our top priority, and we will continue to grow to meet the community's future needs."

Children's Specialists Pulmonary/Cystic Fibrosis Division