With nearly 800 pediatric patients receiving treatment here each year, the Clark Gillies Pediatric Unit is a vital resource for families from throughout the community. Infants, children and adolescents with a range of health problems requiring short term hospitalization or out-patient surgery receive pediatric care of the highest quality. Our full-time Children’s Hospitalist Program (see below) is staffed by skilled pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners who work closely with more than 40 attending pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists.

Our pediatric registered nurses are experienced in patient and family centered care. An interactive electronic pediatric playroom donated by the Champions in Courage Foundation helps meets the psycho-social needs of the hospitalized child. The Clark Gillies Pediatric Unit was named in honor of former New York Islanders hockey player Clark Gillies, whose foundation made a $1 million dollar gift to help fund construction of the unit.

Portholes and larger-than-life undersea murals decorate the unit. The central corridor’s plank flooring resembles a boardwalk. Rooms on the left hand side of the corridor have blue flooring and walls to indicate the “ocean” side of the boardwalk; rooms on the right hand side have a beige color scheme to simulate the “beach” side. The nurse’s station was created to resemble a boat, with a lighthouse completing the nautical theme.

Approximately 1,600 babies are delivered at Huntington Hospital each year. The majority are cared for by the Pediatric Attending staff. For those newborns requiring specialty care, one of more than 15 neonatologists who share appointments at Huntington Hospital and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center is on site at Huntington Hospital at all times. In addition to their participation at every Cesarean birth at Huntington Hospital, neonatologists treat premature infants, infants of diabetic mothers and those with a number of conditions including respiratory distress, neonatal infections, hyperbilirubinemia, among many others. Newborns who require prolonged or complex subspecialty care may be transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the North or South campus of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center. All transfers are carried out with thoughtful consideration to continuity of care.

The Children’s Hospitalist Program ensures that a pediatrician or pediatric-certified nurse practitioner is on-site, 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, to oversee and manage the care provided to infants, children and adolescents. Working closely with our community pediatricians, these specialists in the care of hospitalized children assure the highest level of expertise, and continuous availability to monitor our patients’ changing needs. Parents find the accessibility of these practitioners reassuring, and conducive to effective patient and family education.