Lupus Health Care Team
Lupus Specialists
Use a Team Approach
Health care team members in the Lupus Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center include:
Rheumatologists
Rheumatologists are physicians who have received advanced training in treating rheumatic conditions. These conditions involve:
- Inflammation of the muscles and joints
- Soreness and stiffness of muscles
- Pain in the joints
Rheumatologists who specialize in treating these conditions in children, adolescents, and young adults are known as pediatric rheumatologists. The director of the Lupus Center, Hermine Brunner, MD, MSc, is a pediatric rheumatologist, as are other members of the Lupus Center health care team.
Rheumatologists treat lupus in all organs and body systems. Lupus Center rheumatologists can:
- Order laboratory tests
- Provide treatment plans
- Prescribe medications
- Care for patients in the hospital
- Refer patients to other specialists
- Coordinate care with your child's primary care physician
Nephrologist
A physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases, the nephrologist in the Lupus Center focuses on assessing and managing kidney conditions associated with lupus, including inflammation of the kidneys and hypertension due to poorly functioning kidneys. Our nephrologist can also tell if a patient needs a kidney biopsy, dialysis or kidney transplantation.
Nurses
The nurses in the Lupus Center are an excellent resource for educating patients about lupus and about medications (and their side effects) used to treat lupus.
Our nurses help patients manage lupus and stick to their treatment plan. Many times the nurse is the link between the family, doctor, school and other members of the Lupus Center health care team, coordinating overall care.
The coordinator of the Lupus Center, Shannen L. Nelson, RN, BSN, is an experienced clinical and research nurse. In addition to these responsibilities, Shannen provides links for family-to-family networking and putting families in contact with resources that can help pay for care.
Nutritionist
The nutritionist with the Lupus Center provides help in planning a healthy diet for our lupus patients. This includes a low-sodium diet to control blood pressure and special diets to promote healthy bones, to keep weight under control, or for patients taking the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin").
Social Worker
Our social worker helps with the personal, emotional, school, family or financial concerns that may occur with lupus. For example, our social worker can assist in applying for Medicaid and dealing with other insurance issues, or help you choose a school or college that meets the needs of a child with lupus. Our social worker is also an excellent person to help identify resources within the hospital and local community.
Financial Service Representative
Our financial service representative puts together the initial charts for new patients, based on information provided when the first visit is scheduled. If a Lupus Center physician prescribes medication for a patient, our financial service representative keeps a record of the preauthorization needed for that medication. By keeping track of the daily services provided to our patients by members of the Lupus Center health care team, our financial service representative maintains accurate billing records and sends out the bills.
Physical Therapist (PT) and Occupational Therapist (OT)
The physical therapist (PT) and the occupational therapist (OT) on the Lupus Center care team assist patients and their families to reduce the effects of lupus on physical functioning. Their goal is to help your child maintain or restore the ability to participate in daily activities.
Our PT focuses on the feet, ankles, knees, hips, back and neck and how these body parts are used for activities such as walking, playing or participating in sports. Based on each patient's needs, our PT offers advice on fitness and conditioning and how to modify activities when your child is experiencing painful joints, fatigue or other lupus symptoms.
Our OT focuses more on the fingers, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders and neck and how these body parts are used for activities such as washing, getting dressed, bathing, writing and other school and work tasks. To make it easier for people with lupus to accomplish these activities, our OT may recommend special exercises or devices.
Both our PT and OT pay close attention to posture and the effects of lupus symptoms such as painful and swollen joints. These therapists may recommend ways to correct posture and prevent further body strain by modifying positions and doing exercises they show you and your child.
Psychologist
A psychologist, a specialist in the study of mind and behavior, may be needed to help your child cope with living with lupus. Specially trained to counsel and work with families, the Lupus Center psychologist helps patients adjust to lupus symptoms and treatments and changes at home, school or work.
Ophthalmologist
An ophthalmologist is a doctor specially trained to check for and treat eye problems. These problems include glaucoma and cataracts, which are among the side effects of corticosteroids used to treat lupus. One of the Lupus Center pediatric rheumatologists will recommend when it is necessary to see an ophthalmologist.
Research Staff
Research personnel in the Lupus Center:
- Review and explain research studies to families
- Inform families about new studies
- Recruit patients to take part in studies
Patients who do decide to take part in studies usually need to have blood work and other tests and complete questionnaires; our research staff helps with these tasks. Whenever possible, blood work for research studies will be done at the same time as other scheduled blood draws so all blood needed can be collected using one needle stick.
