Neonatologist Hired to Lead New High-Risk Infant Follow Up Program
Neonatologist Megan Reyes-Wangh, DO, associate professor of pediatrics, has joined the Department of Pediatrics at The Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital as director of its new High-Risk Infant Follow Up Program. The program is designed to offer continuing support to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients and families who are at the highest risk for developing complex health and developmental issues during infancy and early childhood after they are discharged.
“Our goal is to identify concerns early and connect the family with the necessary support services,” said Dr. Reyes-Wangh. “By ensuring their needs are met in a timely manner, we can help these children reach their fullest potential.”
Patients will experience comprehensive care within the program. The team works alongside the patient’s pediatrician and collaborates with various subspecialists and early intervention providers to ensure optimal health and outcomes.
The team will assess the child’s feeding, growth, development, thinking, language, and movement, help make referrals to specialists or support services, and serve as an advocate for the patient and family.
The High-Risk Infant Follow Up Program builds off the long-standing NICU Follow Up program within the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Health, which served thousands of patients with developmental needs. The new program encompasses newborns and infants with developmental and medical needs. Patients seen in the new High-Risk Infant Follow Up program will be referred to Developmental-Behavioral Health if there are on-going developmental delays. Louise O’Leary, BSW, worked with the original NICU Follow Up Program and will now serve as the case manager for the High-Risk Infant Follow Up Program.
“We are excited to take our long-standing NICU Follow-up Program to the next level with Dr. Reyes-Wangh’s vision,” said Barbara E. Ostrov, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and chief of service of the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital. “We also wish to recognize the work of our Developmental and Behavioral Program partnering with Dr. Reyes-Wangh with this new endeavor.”
Dr. Reyes-Wangh most recently worked as director of simulation education and associate director of the Neonatology Follow Up Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Board-certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine, Dr. Reyes-Wangh completed a neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at New York University School of Medicine in Manhattan, where they were chief fellow. They completed their pediatric residency at the Winthrop University Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital on Long Island, where they were chief resident. They earned their Doctor of Osteopathy degree at Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz.
Every year, Dr. Reyes-Wangh spends two weeks participating in the Bridges to Malawi program as the newborn medicine lead, where they teach newborn resuscitation, support bedside NICU work and newborn care, donate medical equipment, and give formal medical lectures to hospital staff in the Kasungu district of Malawi, Africa.
The High-Risk Infant Follow Up team will see patients in Suite 1A at 391 Myrtle, Ave. Albany, NY. For more information or to make an appointment, call 518-264-5688.