Chairman Message

Ronald M. Perkin, MD, MA
Professor and Chairman

Thank you for your interest in our pediatric training program. Our three-year residency emphasizes a combination of primary-continuity care and exposure to complex patients whose medical conditions require management in a tertiary care center. This approach provides the resident with the knowledge and experience to diagnose and manage the broad spectrum of pediatric illnesses and injuries.

Our program offers a highly qualified and dedicated faculty and modern, well-equipped clinical facilities at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern North Carolina, the Pediatric Outpatient Center, the Adult and Pediatric Health Care Center, and the Pediatric Specialty Care Center. All of these facilities are located on the same campus in Greenville, North Carolina. Residents are also provided the opportunity to learn about rural health by involvement in the off-site clinics offered periodically in Snow Hill, Plymouth, Williamston and Columbia, North Carolina.

Our Children’s Hospital is the only hospital in eastern North Carolina designed for children. Because we are the teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, and the Schools of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, our patients benefit from the latest and best research and treatment. We provide inpatient, outpatient and preventive community care to a population of 1.3 million in 29 eastern North Carolina counties.

Our 158-bed hospital will have about 6,500 admissions this year, and between the hospital and medical school, we will treat over 80,000 children in outpatient visits. In 2009 we anticipate opening a new pediatric emergency department.

Pediatricians, pediatric specialists, pediatric surgeons and pediatric residents provide outstanding healthcare to our children. In addition, neonatal nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, child life specialists, school teachers and other staff are dedicated to the well being of children.

Our care includes community activities targeting wellness and prevention, disease management of selected patient populations, school health specialists and outreach education programs. Patients, families and staff benefit from services such as the Ronald McDonald House, the Children’s Miracle Network, the East Carolina Injury Prevention Program, the ViQuest Wellness Program, the School Health Program, the Family Support Network, the Pediatric Asthma Program, and TEDI BEAR: CAC. The latter is a nationally accredited center with services that include forensic evaluation of possibly abused children by skilled providers, mental health therapy for victims, and community-based child abuse prevention programs. Residents also participate in and learn from nationally recognized community and system-based programs that have resulted in remarkable and measurable improvements in the care of children with certain disorders such as asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In summary, we provide a challenging and comprehensive professional experience, in a cooperative atmosphere, that makes this a location to seriously consider for post-graduate training.