The Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult

Wellness and Survivorship Program

The Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Wellness and Survivorship Program at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College consists of a multidisciplinary team focused on recognizing and managing potential late effects that can occur as a consequence after treatment for childhood cancers and/or following stem cell transplant on the brain, eyes, ears, lungs, heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and bladder, as well as the skeletal, reproductive and endocrine systems. The program is focused on educating survivors regarding their long term health risks and addressing these needs by providing survivors with comprehensive medical and psychosocial care. Furthermore, the Wellness and Survivorship Program has the ability to utilize our experience with this unique patient population to develop and implement various clinical research projects that will contribute to the field of long term survivorship. Overall the program is equipped to design and deliver customized and personalized therapy for each long term survivor of their childhood cancer and/or stem cell transplant.

Our Clinical Trials

Services Provided

  • Monitoring for and managing physical late effects
  • Providing health education to survivors regarding their diagnoses, treatment exposures, and potential late effects
  • Providing referrals to specialists and resources as indicated
  • Encouraging wellness and health promotion activities
  • Addressing psychosocial needs of survivors and affected family members
  • Assessing and providing intervention for educational and/or vocational needs
  • Assisting with financial and insurance issues
  • Guiding transition from pediatric to adult focused healthcare
  • Empowering survivors to advocate for their own healthcare needs
  • Facilitating survivorship research

KEY CONTACTS

DIRECTOR:
Jessica Hochberg, MD
[email protected]
(914) 493-7997
CLINICAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR:
Meghan Sturhan, RN, MSN, CPNP-AC, CPHON
[email protected]
(914) 594-2179
SOCIAL WORK:
Rose Bartone, LCSW
[email protected]
(914) 594-2159

Key Team Members/Disciplines

The core team will include a pediatric oncologist, nurse coordinator, social worker, data manager and clinical research associate. Surrounding the core survivorship team will be a group of physician specialists familiar with evaluating problems in childhood cancer survivors. Such specialties will include radiation oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, orthopedics, neurology, endocrinology, urology, audiology/ENT, nephrology, gastroenterology, nutrition, dental and psychology.

Unique Features

Optimal healthcare delivery to this unique population requires the establishment of necessary infrastructure, including several key components:

  • Longitudinal care utilizing a comprehensive multidisciplinary team approach
  • Continuity, with a single healthcare provider coordinating needed services
  • An emphasis on the whole person, with sensitivity to the cancer experience and its impact on the entire family
  • Academic setting to allow for establishment of a specialized multidisciplinary follow up team to care for large numbers of survivors
  • Targeted individualized studies to evaluate organ function and monitor for late effects based on the survivor’s treatment history
  • Comprehensive psychosocial evaluation, guidance, and vocational assistance
  • Director: Jessica Hochberg, MD
  • Clinical Program Coordinator: Tara Giblin, MS, MPH, CPNP
  • Radiation Oncology: Chitti Moorthy, MD
  • Cardiology: Deborah Friedman, MD
  • Pulmonology: Christy Kim, MD
  • Endocrinology: Richard Noto, MD
  • Nephrology: Robyn Matloff, MD
  • Orthopedics: David Asprinio, MD
  • Neurology: Wendy Silver, MD
  • ENT/Audiology:Lynn De Serres, MD
  • Gastroenterology: Stewart Berezin, MD
  • Neuropsychology: Suzanne Braniecki, PhD
  • Social Work: Rose Bartone, LCSW-R
  • OB/GYN: Amy Vallerie, MD
  • Fertility: Edward Illions, MD
  • Genetic Testing: David Kronn, MD
  • Neuro-Ophthalmology: Scott Forman, MD