Infusion and Sedation Center
The Infusion and Sedation Center at Akron Children’s Hospital provides two distinct services. Our sedation services are provided for children that need to hold still for a test or procedure and involves a sedation medication to help children relax. Infusion is an outpatient procedure providing IV therapy for children and young adults to treat a variety of conditions.
Our Doctors/Providers
Director, Pediatric Sedation Services; Pediatric Hospitalist
Tarun Bhalla, MD, MBA, FAAP
Chair, Anesthesia & Pain Medicine; Pediatric Anesthesiologist
Sophia Chen, MD
Pediatric Hospitalist
Carly Dulabon, MD
Pediatric Hospitalist
LeRoy Eberly, MD
Director, Hospital Medicine at Akron Children's Hospital Beeghly Campus; Pediatric Hospitalist
Samantha Gunkelman, MD
Co-Director, Residency Quality Improvement Program; Pediatric Hospitalist
Lindsay Harsey, DO
Co-Director, EBM and Journal Club; Pediatric Hospitalist
Nimisha Jain, MD, FAAP
Pediatric Hospitalist
Kathryn Mansel, MD, FAAP
Pediatric Hospitalist; Associate Pediatric Residency Program Director; Co-Director, EBM and Journal Club
James Nard, MD
Director, Hospital Medicine; Pediatric Hospitalist and Sedationist
Susan Nofziger, MD
Pediatric Hospitalist
Lauren Ousley, DO
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician
Brittany Potts, MD
Pediatric Global Health Physician; Pediatric Hospitalist
Hannah Rhodes, DO
Pediatric Hospitalist
Zachary Rohrer, DO
Pediatric Hospitalist/Nocturnist
Lawrence Shaffer, MD, FAAP
Pediatric Hospitalist
Jeffrey Solomon, MD, FAAP, FACP
Director, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship; Pediatric Hospitalist
Wendy Van Ittersum, MD, FAAP
Director, Pediatric Residency Simulation Program; Pediatric Hospitalist
Kenneth Wyatt, DO
Pediatric Hospitalist; Pediatric Clerkship Director
Jonathan Baldridge, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Megan Dahlheimer, MSN, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Anna Hauenstein, MSN, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Amanda Hubay, MSN, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Amanda Pelligra, MSN, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Jackie Pressman, MSN, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Leah Rawdon, MSN, APRN-CNP
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Resources
What Should Families Expect When They Come for an Appointment?
At Akron Children’s, your child’s health and safety is our priority. Please continue to bring your child for wellness visits, vaccinations or sick care appointments that keep children healthy. We want to assure you that we have taken additional precautions to ensure a safe environment for your child and family. The following are additional safety efforts, in addition to our normal cleaning protocols, that we are taking to help you be comfortable bringing your child to an appointment.
Limiting the Number of Caregivers and Face Covering
The number of caregivers permitted to accompany a child to an appointment is dependent on the department you are visiting. Everyone visiting an Akron Children's facility is asked to wear masks or face coverings, except for kids under 2 or those with sensory issues. Masks will be provided for visitors who do not bring their own.
Checking In and Screening of Visitors
Akron Children's now offers Mobile Check-in to limit your exposure to others. You'll receive a text an hour before your child's appointment arrival time. Click the link in the text when you reach the Akron Children's facility for your child's appointment. You will receive a confirmation text that reminds you to wait in your car. Once we determine appropriate spacing is available inside the building, you'll receive a third text to let you know it's OK to come in for your appointment.
Immediately upon entering the building, your temperature will be taken, either by a thermal scanner or a greeter who will also ask you a few questions.
If you are in a waiting room, you’ll notice signs and a limited number of chairs. This is to remind our patients to keep 6 feet of physical distance between your family and others.
Precautions If You Suspect Your Child Has COVID-19
Call your child’s healthcare professional if your child is sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing and has been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19, or if you live in or have recently traveled from an area with ongoing spread of COVID-19. Your health care professional will work with Ohio’s public health department and the CDC to determine if your child needs to be tested for COVID-19.
View all the safety precautions Akron Children's is taking.
Infusion Center
The Infusion Center offers a comfortable, convenient, patient centered environment to receive intravenous infusions by specially-trained pediatric nurses. Infusion therapy is administered to pediatric patients who require one-time or ongoing IV therapy for a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. Some therapies available:
- Antibiotic therapy
- Biologics for treatment of arthritis and Gastrointestinal diseases
- Biosphosphonates (therapies to enhance bone density)
- Blood product transfusions
- Intramuscular and subcutaneous injections
- Iron therapy
- IV fluid hydration
- Immune globulins
- IV steroids
- Mediport maintenance
- Monitoring of first dose medications for patients at high risk due to allergies
Sedation
Sedation is a safe way to keep children comfortable during a short, painful procedure or a long test that requires them to stay perfectly still. This includes:
- Radiology exams such as MRI, CAT scans, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine studies.
- Botox injections and nerve blocks to improve spasticity
- Lumbar punctures to collect and examine the fluid around the brain and spinal cord
- Biopsies to obtain tissue samples
- Hearing tests (brain stem evoked response tests)
- Removal of sutures or stitches
- Interventional radiology procedures
- Oncology procedures (bone marrow aspiration and biopsy)
- Dental procedures
- Joint injections
