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Demand for local pediatric services has doubled

Nevaeh Johnson, 3, squirts her mom, Jessica Kersey, with water as the pair play with a toy iron in their Beavercreek home. Kersey is having difficulty finding a mental health specialist locally to see Nevaeh. Staff photo by Ron Alvey

Ron Alvey Nevaeh Johnson, 3, squirts her mom, Jessica Kersey, with water as the pair play with a toy iron in their Beavercreek home. Kersey is having difficulty finding a mental health specialist locally to see Nevaeh. Staff photo by Ron Alvey

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 11:21 AM Tuesday, March 2, 2010

DAYTON — At age 3, Nevaeh Johnson is showing violent tendencies.

“She’s tried to hurt herself,” said her mother, Jessica Kersey of Beavercreek. “She’s tried to hurt her siblings.”

Finding mental health services locally for Nevaeh has been difficult, though. And Kersey, a single mom, has three other children, a full-time job and is furthering her education online. Having Nevaeh admitted for a week at Cincinnati’s children’s hospital for treatment would have meant regular long drives that just aren’t feasible, she said.

“You feel frustrated, helpless,” she said.

Kersey isn’t alone. A shortage of doctors in a range of pediatric subspecialties such as behavioral health — combined with growth in demand for such services — has delayed appointments for children.

In addition to behavioral health, there are significant other needs. Locally, pediatric specialists are needed in areas such as neurology, urology and gastroenterology, said Dr. Arthur Pickoff, chair of the pediatrics department at the Children’s Medical Center of Dayton.

The wait time to see a pediatric neurologist at Dayton Children’s, for example, is about three weeks. At Dayton Children’s outpatient clinic in Warren County, it’s nine weeks.

Those numbers may even be skewed low as some children go elsewhere for care, Pickoff said. Ideally, the wait should be two weeks.

The hospital said it is committed to making sure children with the most urgent needs can be seen as quickly as the same day.

Demand at Dayton Children’s for pediatric subspecialty services has more than doubled in the past 12 years, with total clinic visits to specialists growing from 29,445 to 60,770.

Medical advances have helped more children with complicated medical conditions survive and be treated outside of hospitals. That has driven up demand for pediatric specialists, said Lawrence McAndrews, president/CEO of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions.

While direct comparisons are difficult, wait times also can be significant for those waiting to see adult specialists.

The average wait time nationwide ranges from 15 1/2 days for cardiologists to 27 1/2 days for obstetrician-gynecologists, according to Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a national health care search and consulting firm specializing in the recruitment of physicians.

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