St. Christopher's Hospital for Children (SCHC), a leader in pediatric care since 1875, and Specialists On Call, Inc. (SOC), the country's leading provider of acute clinical telemedicine services, are pleased to announce that they have partnered to provide 24/7 emergency and specialty pediatric consultations as well as neonatal care via telemedicine to hospitals throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This joint venture leverages SOC's telemedicine expertise and infrastructure to distribute the skills of SCHC's world-class pediatric specialists to participating hospitals across the region.

"This is an incredible union of clinical talent and telemedicine," comments SCHC's CEO, Carolyn Jackson. "St. Christopher's has a legacy of providing cutting-edge medical services to children across the Greater Philadelphia region. Our partnership with Specialists On Call continues that tradition by increasing access to pediatric specialty care, strengthening local clinical capabilities, saving hospitals money, and helping more children than ever before."

The TelePediatric service will provide participating hospitals with on-demand access to SCHC's elite team of board certified pediatric specialists and subspecialists and help local providers with consultations in their emergency department, pediatric unit, or NICU any time of day or night.

"We're fortunate to have such a terrific partner for this new service," added SOC's CEO, Dr. Joe Peterson. "St. Christopher's is one of the top children's hospitals in the country and we share their commitment to clinical quality. We look forward to helping area hospitals with their pediatric patients and growing this program into a TelePediatric service with national reach."

St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, a Tenet-owned facility, is a 189-bed free-standing, academic children's specialty hospital. In addition to its main location in Philadelphia, St. Christopher's has six specialty pediatric satellites, four general pediatric offices and two urgent care centers throughout the Philadelphia suburbs and New Jersey. St. Christopher's has a faculty practice plan of approximately 230 pediatric specialists, combining expert general pediatric care with more than 30 different subspecialty areas. SCHC also trains the next generation of physicians through its affiliations with the medical schools at both Drexel and Temple Universities.

Specialists On Call is the nation's most experienced and trusted provider of physician consultations via telemedicine. SOC provides over 300 hospitals nationwide with 24/7 TeleNeurology, TelePsychiatry, TeleIntensivist and TeleCardiology services delivering highly qualified, telemedicine-experienced, board certified, fellowship trained specialty physicians directly to the patient's bedside. Since inception, SOC has consulted upon more than 100,000 patients, improving the care of patients and their families. SOC is the first private provider of acute clinical telemedicine services to earn The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval and it has maintained that accreditation every year since 2006.

For more information on St. Christopher's Hospital for Children please visit www.stchristophershospital.com

For more information on Specialists On Call please visit www.specialistsoncall.com

For St. Christopher?s Hospital for Children
Ilena Di Toro
Senior PR Specialist
215-427-5396
Ilena.ditoro@tenethealth.com
or
For Specialists On Call
Clark Wells
Director of Marketing Services
323-767-4272
cwells@soctelemed.com