Herron Triplets, Success Story
Affinity/UW Children’s Heath Center success story, the Herron triplets
Born prematurely, at 26 weeks gestation, all three Herron triplets were immediately admitted to the St. Elizabeth neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Each was diagnosed with a number of conditions upon discharge home, making for an uphill climb over the last five years for them and their parents, Denise and Clay.
The UW Health physicians who have cared for the triplets since birth work more than two hours away. Fortunately for the Herrons, who live in Appleton, the doctors make the trip to the triplets.
Pediatric specialists from UW Children’s Hospital in Madison travel to Appleton to see patients at the Affinity/UW Children’s Health Center at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. This arrangement helps children who need specialty pediatric care to be seen for diagnosis, regular check ups and treatment closer to home.
“Parents of children with complex medical problems must constantly arrange their lives to accommodate multiple doctors’ appointments,” says Dr. Dennis Lund, UW Health pediatric surgeon and chief of pediatric surgery at UW Children’s Hospital. “The Affinity/UW Children’s Health Center gives us the opportunity to assist these families and simplify their lives while offering access to the best possible pediatric specialty care.”
Denise appreciates the difference. “If we had to go down to Madison, my husband and I would have to take full days off work,” Denise says. Besides saving time, Denise says there are numerous other advantages to the relationship between the hospitals. “They are really great at sharing information,” she says. “The kids’ primary care physician, Dr. Kurt Heyrman, knows the UW pediatricians and will talk back and forth with them, do follow-up and recommend certain UW doctors. If we do need to go to Madison, the trip is coordinated very well.”
