Share ThisAs of March 1, 2019, the Pediatric Alliance, one of western Pennsylvania's largest independent pediatric physician groups, officially became part of Allegheny Health Network (AHN).
Dr. Joseph Aracri, chair of the AHN Department of Pediatrics.
Formed in 1996, the Pediatric Alliance affiliation brought more than 60 clinicians to AHN — as well as a popular clinician-run blog for parents that has published an article almost every day since it began in 2012!
Joseph Aracri, DO, joined the Pediatric Alliance as a physician in 2004, and has been chair of the AHN Department of Pediatrics since 2014. He points out that long before this affiliation, the two organizations were working closely together. For example, the Pediatric Alliance opened a practice at AHN’s Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion in 2015, and also collaborates on obstetric care at Jefferson Hospital, among other projects.
He says that the way the organizations collaborated, and ultimately the new affiliation, also embody AHN’s larger strategic commitment to expanding services through the AHN Women and Children Institute, chaired by Allan Klapper, MD.
Dr. Aracri generously took time to answer a few questions about his own commitment to pediatric care and how the affiliation between AHN and the Pediatric Alliance will impact the region.
Emily Laubham (EL): When did your interest in medicine begin?
Dr. Joseph Aracri (JA): I grew up right outside of Pittsburgh in Green Tree. Ever since I was a kid, I just always wanted to be a pediatrician. I earned a degree in psychology at Allegheny College in Meadville, then went to osteopathic school at University of Medicine and Dentistry School of New Jersey. I came back to Pittsburgh to receive pediatric training at Mercy Hospital.
EL: What’s your biggest motivation to work in pediatrics?
JA: I get to keep kids happy, healthy, and connected with their families. It’s really amazing to watch them grow up.
EL: Can you describe your involvement with the Pediatric Alliance?
JA: In 2004, my pediatric practice merged with Pediatric Alliance. At the most basic level, the Pediatric Alliance is about a group of pediatricians who share resources. It has 17 locations and more than two decades of experience. Each practice functions independently, but we come together for things like IT and HR. There is a board of directors that includes a member from every office. I became president of the alliance in 2010.
EL: What has changed for patients since the Pediatric Alliance joined AHN?
JA: I don’t want patients to be concerned about changes. They will have the same providers, the same staff, and all the same offices. We will continue to work with the same hospitals throughout the region, including St. Clair Hospital and AHN hospitals. The affiliation simply allows our pediatricians to grow and better serve our patients with increased access to technology and improved programming.
The plan, across AHN, is to give our communities a strong primary care pediatric department that offers care close to where people live — care located in their neighborhoods.EL: From your perspective as a pediatrician, what are you most excited about looking ahead?
JA: It really comes down to having even more resources to keep improving technology, quality, and safety initiatives, and just serve our families better.
I’ll add that we already have a strong, high-quality children’s hospital in Pittsburgh, so we’re not looking to duplicate that. This is about providing strong services and local access for all those pediatric care needs that don’t involve a hospital and that help keep kids out of the hospital.
Again, it’s important to see what AHN is doing with pediatric care in the context of that larger continuum of care for women and children. Around the time AHN and the Pediatric Alliance announced the affiliation early in 2019, AHN also opened a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at West Penn Hospital — a $23 million NICU with all private rooms and expanded treatment capabilities for premature babies and critically ill infants. The new AHN Wexford Hospital, under construction right now, will have its own obstetrics unit. And of course there has been good coverage around what AHN is doing in perinatal and postnatal mental health with the Alexis Joy D’Achille Center.
There is a lot going on, a lot to be proud of, and our work in pediatrics is an exciting part of that.
Dr. Joseph Aracri has practiced pediatric medicine since 1998. He joined western Pennsylvania’s Pediatric Alliance in 2004, and served as its president from 2009 through 2014. In 2014, Dr. Aracri took on the role of chair of the Department of Pediatrics for Allegheny Health Network, now the AHN Pediatric Institute. In this role, he leads more than 120 affiliated physicians, providing a broad range of inpatient and outpatient care, including general pediatrics, pediatric critical care, asthma, allergy and immunology, and neonatology services.
Dr. Aracri is a graduate of Allegheny College, and completed his medical degree at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey. He did his pediatric residency training at Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh. His special interests include childhood obesity, developmental pediatrics, and sports medicine.
Since August 2012, Pediatric Alliance pediatricians have been “continuing the profound two-way conversation we have in our offices every day in a new and exciting way” — with blog posts at www.thepediablog.com.
Like other pediatric blogs, there is plenty of helpful health and wellness information for children and teens, and for their parents and family members, including topics like immunizations, physical fitness, and nutrition.
But The Pedia Blog, edited by pediatrician and Pediatric Alliance cofounder Dr. Ned Ketyer, also has a wider-than-usual range of content, like a “Cool Video of the Week” series, and thoughtful contributions on difficult topics that many blogs avoid, such as firearm safety, the connections between health and the environment, and challenges involving social media.
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