The Philosophy of NTCA

The philosophy of the North Texas Children’s Anesthesia group to work “truly in a collaborative fashion without competing” has certainly brought success to this group. And that’s clearly apparent by how quickly the group has grown. It all began when Drs. Glen Wyant, Jim Rothschiller, and John Kampine envisioned an organized pediatric anesthesia group that would follow this philosophy. And as Dr. Rothschiller emphasized, “The key word in great groups is collaboration.”

Dr Wyant and Dr. Kampine had been covering cases for each other when Dr. Rothschiller also began collaborating. By January 2002, the three were inundated with work. That’s when Drs Stan Davis and Chris Clarke joined. But it didn’t stop there. By September requests from surgeons to assist in their cases were non-stop. To meet the demand, the group increased, joined by Drs David Abramson and Red Starks, the North Texas Children’s Anesthesia group was founded. But the requirements to join the group were high. Each member of the group is fellowship trained with five to fifteen years of experience. They are all board certified pediatric anesthesiologists. Four of the eight are either current or ex-chiefs of staff and members are PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) certified as well as ACLS (Adult Care Life support) certified. Five members of the group are certified PALS instructors. The group has experts in cranial-facial work, pediatric cardiac anesthesia, neurosurgical cases, as well as neonatal anesthesia. As Dr. Wyant claims, “We cover the gamut for complex pediatric surgeries.”

One facet of pediatric surgery that has led to the need for a group such as the NTCA is the change in institutional based surgeries. In the past complex pediatric surgery was limited to one hospital. “Just as complex pediatric surgery has been institutional, so has the anesthesia,” says Dr. Stan Davis. “Our group is on the forefront of this change,” he adds. “We’re bringing in the expertise outside of that institutional model.” “One example is neonatal care,” Dr. Davis claims. “In the past neonates had to be transported to another hospital. Now neonatal care is provided in most community hospitals. This is a huge change. It keeps the baby and mother together and allows the family who has already bonded with one group of nurses to continue that care of familiarity. The same is true for complex pediatric surgery cases. Now the community hospitals can get the same level of care as a children’s hospital does.” Dr. Davis adds, “Hospitals have made tremendous investments in capital equipment and personnel to have their own special units for these pediatric cases. The level of care a child receives is the same high quality whether we do the case at Children’s or any other hospital.”

This has also allowed the surgeons flexibility as far as where they would like to do the cases. “The most important thing to surgeons,” claims Dr. Wyant, “is time.” “Our group is flexible and we make ourselves fit around the surgeon’s schedule. One group of surgeons that works closely with the NTCA is Pediatric Surgical Associates. These surgeons are on call every day for emergencies throughout the metroplex. Dr. Rothschiller says, “No matter what time of day or night it is, they know they can call us directly and we are there!” Dr. William Dammert, President of the surgical group relies heavily on the expertise of these anesthesiologists. “It is a pleasure to work with a group of pediatric anesthesiologists composed of such highly qualified, ethical, and motivated individuals,” Dr. Dammert claims. “We feel that our patients are in safe and caring hands with this group of anesthesiologists.”

One factor that sets these pediatric anesthesiologists apart from others is their approach to patient care. In the past anesthesiologists were usually in the background, seen once by the patient right before surgery. As Dr. Stan Davis points out, “Parents are educated consumers today when it comes to surgery and their child. They demand a higher quality of care. They research the Internet and want more information on surgery and anesthesia.” All members of the group agree that it’s important to ease the parents’ concerns as much as possible. This is why each anesthesiologist makes personal phone calls to the parents the night before their child’s surgery. “We want to make sure the child is prepared both psychologically and physically the night before,” Dr. Davis adds. They answer any questions the parent may have and explain the procedure that will take place. These anesthesiologists don’t just disappear after the surgery either. They want the parents to know that they are accessible afterwards. A business card is always given out so the parent can call with any questions. One mother, whose child had undergone sixteen surgeries throughout his life was surprised when she received a phone call. “No other anesthesiologist has ever called me the night before,” she said. Another mother called one of the group members to ask a question about the pain medication because she hadn’t been able to reach the surgeon the day after her child’s surgery. “It’s not unusual for us to get calls from the parents,” Dr. Wyant explains. “When we look a parent in the eye and say, we’re going to take good care of your child, we mean that in every sense.” “We’re there doing the actual work, one-on-one. We’re not supervising someone else to take care of your child, and we’re not handling several cases at once. We’re there to give individualized care to your child every step of the way.”

This level of high quality care is no longer limited to one institution. Thanks to the North Texas Children’s Anesthesia group, complex pediatric surgeries can now be performed throughout the metroplex. The only organized group of pediatric anesthesiologists in Dallas, they are looking to expand by the end of next year. But no matter how large this group gets, they insist on the highest level of skills and ethics in each of their anesthesiologists. Along with those skills and ethics a common thread runs through each member of the group. That common thread is the pride and passion they all share for their work. To put it simply, Dr. Robbie Thomas says, “Each one of us considers it an honor and a privilege to care for children.” They are all experts in their field and as Dr. Glen Wyant points out, “Our expertise is kids!”