Broward Health and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital have agreed to jointly provide healthcare to children in Broward County, the hospitals’ boards announced.
Through this collaboration, Nicklaus Children’s, which is based in Miami-Dade County, will become the dedicated pediatric provider at Broward Health’s Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs hospitals. Broward Health currently operates Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital as part of Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Coral Springs and has neonatal intensive care units at both hospitals.
For Broward Health, the affiliation brings Nicklaus Children’s expertise in neurology, cardiology, oncology and orthopedics and subspecialties to its pediatric patients.
Shane Strum, CEO of Broward Health and interim CEO of the Memorial Healthcare System, said he has been working with Nicklaus for about a year to make this happen. He said bringing in Nicklaus specialists will, over time, triple the size of pediatric staff at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, the system’s flagship hospital.
“For some of the high acuity and very specialized cases, we have had to send those children down to Nicklaus or sometimes outside the state,” Strum said. “Now they are going to be able to stay close to home.”
Nicklaus has a small presence in Broward County but this arrangement gives the children’s hospital a much bigger platform.
“As South Florida’s only freestanding pediatric hospital serving families for 75 years, Nicklaus Children’s looks forward to delivering care to more children and families in Broward through our world-renowned programs and services,” said Matthew Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “Through our affiliation with Broward Health, we will be able to increase access to high-quality care in the region while keeping kids close to home for decades to come.”
Strum said the affiliation will begin in early 2025, and a full transition is expected by the end of the year.
Strum also took on the role of interim CEO of Memorial Healthcare System in September and indicated the two publicly funded North and South Broward Hospital Districts would collaborate more. The two will jointly operate a new freestanding emergency department in Sunrise for children and adults scheduled to open in early 2026. However, Memorial owns Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, a Nicklaus competitor.
On Friday, Strum said wants to eventually bring Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Nicklaus together to create the Children’s Hospital of Florida.
“Imagine the combined forces, the cross pollination, the credentialing physicians could do so they can go back and forth. It would actually change the pediatric landscape,” Strum said. “Parents anywhere could come here for these services instead of leaving the state.”
Got tips or comments? South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.
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