By Jorge Bezerra, MD
Director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

 In the midst of busy clinics, complex medical and surgical cases, care conferences, review of exciting research projects, and everything else that fills our days here at Cincinnati Children’s, we know it is important to take a moment every now and then to reflect upon where we have been and where we are going. This Accomplishments Report, which highlights clinical and research activities from the past fiscal year (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018), is an opportunity to do just that.

Our clinical mission is to deliver exceptional, safe and affordable care to improve the outcome of children with digestive diseases. From the simple to the most complex conditions, we work as a team to deliver the best care. In June 2018, we learned that the US News and World Report recognized this commitment by placing our GI Division at the top of its 2018-19 Honor Roll rankings.

Our achievements simply would not be possible without the physicians, nurses and staff who bring complementary skills to provide timely consultation, implement comprehensive treatment strategies for the children in our care, and foster the best possible patient and family experiences at Cincinnati Children’s.

So much of what we do for children begins with you, our network of referring physicians. You are highly capable, caring providers who are committed to your patients and ready to partner with us to pursue the best outcome. This coming year, in an effort to support the work you do, we are finding ways to further increase access to our clinics, improve provider-to-provider communication, and explore strategies to lower the cost of treatment. Please know that this is our commitment to you and to the patients we serve.

Some of you collaborate with our clinical and basic research teams to solve challenges and pursue discoveries that are highly relevant to the digestive diseases that affect children. Thank you. Through partnerships with you and with specialists in other disciplines like surgery, neurology, allergy and immunology, we are working to improve existing protocols, design new diagnostics and treatments, and continuously explore strategies to make these advances available to our patients.

No matter what the next year holds, please know that one thing always remains in focus: our commitment to serving the patients and families who look to us for healing and hope. Thank you for being part of that most worthy endeavor.