VCU news

By Kate Marino
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU

Children’s Hospital Foundation has announced a $2,931,673 pledge to support urology services at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. The pledge will fund several initiatives over a three-year period, including establishing the Children’s Hospital Foundation Endowed Chair in Pediatric Urology, recruiting additional surgeons and a clinical research coordinator, and expanding clinical programs.

Over the past year and a half, pediatric urology surgical services at CHoR have grown exponentially to meet demand, beginning with the recruitment of C.D. Anthony Herndon, M.D., chief of pediatric urology and co-surgeon-in-chief at CHoR, in June 2016. Later that year, CHoR acquired a community pediatric urology practice to enhance services and decrease fragmentation.

“We are tremendously grateful for the foundation’s pledge of support for our pediatric urology services,” Herndon said. “Although our annual clinic visits have more than tripled and surgeries have nearly doubled in less than two years, the demand for quality care continues to grow, particularly in some of our niche clinical programs. This support will help us expand and improve access to specialty care, positively impacting patients throughout the commonwealth and beyond.”

Herndon will be the first physician to hold the Children’s Hospital Foundation Endowed Chair in Pediatric Urology position, which will be established with a $1.5 million gift from the foundation. The endowed chair will ensure that CHoR is able to continue recruiting and retaining top specialists beyond the three-year period.

Of the foundation’s remaining pledge, $1.15 million will be dedicated to the recruitment of additional pediatric urologists, a critical step in the ongoing growth and development of the program’s services. Another $221,000 will help in the recruitment of a clinical research coordinator to oversee a multi-center national registry for children diagnosed with prenatal urinary tract dilation, a condition that occurs in about 1 percent of pregnancies and may involve a blockage of the flow of urine from the kidneys. The data in the registry will assist in research to develop effective treatment protocols to better define the role of antibiotics and need for invasive postnatal radiologic imaging.

Finally, $60,000 will support CHoR’s voiding dysfunction program which incorporates a comprehensive behavioral program that will include biofeedback and promote a quality experience for patients and families receiving these specialized services.

“Children’s Hospital Foundation is very pleased to support the pediatric urology team, led by Dr. Tony Herndon, at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU,” said Chris Broughton-Spruill, Children’s Hospital Foundation president. “His vision and progress aligns perfectly with our goal to provide all children in our region access to the most advanced pediatric health care possible.”

Pediatric urology addresses everything from bedwetting and circumcision to complex congenital and prenatal issues treated effectively with a minimally invasive robotics program. The experts at CHoR help with diagnosis, improvement of urologic function through conservative management and surgical procedures, and maintenance of a healthy urinary system.