Description
The University of Cincinnati’s Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, is offering an outstanding opportunity for a pediatric physiatrist to join our growing number of faculty who specialize in the care and management of patients with new onset or chronic functional impairment and disability.
About Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC):
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is a nonprofit pediatric academic institution that consistently ranks among the top 5 pediatric hospitals in the country. Our 19,000+ employees, faculty, residents, and fellows share the same vision: to be the leader in improving child health. Located in an affordable and vibrant community that is rich in history and has many options for dining out, exploring nature, live art performances and athletic events. Cincinnati Children’s is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an environment of dignity and respect for all our employees, patients, and families. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, genetic information, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.
About the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM):
The Division was founded in 1990. Our mission is to advance the field of pediatric physiatry and maximize the health, function, and well-being of children through the highest quality family-centered rehabilitative care, transformative research, collaboration across disciplines, advocacy and training of tomorrow’s leaders. We have 14 faculty and enjoy a culture that promotes collaboration, respect, inclusion, as well as individual and programmatic growth and development. We have the largest training program in the field of pediatric rehabilitation with four fellows and five triple board residents and 58 graduates.
About the Clinical Programming within the Division of PRM:
The Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine provides rehabilitation care throughout the spectrum of initial diagnosis and acute medical care of infants, children, adolescents and young adults during hospitalization at Cincinnati Children’s, often including care through our inpatient consultation team or through admission to our CARF Accredited inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit, onwards through longitudinal care in our general rehabilitation and multidisciplinary specialty clinics:
Inpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation Service:
The Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s provides comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation services through two key pathways: a robust inpatient consultation service and an accredited inpatient rehabilitation unit recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).
The inpatient unit includes specialized CARF-accredited programs in:
- Pediatric Specialty Rehabilitation
- Pediatric Brain Injury Rehabilitation
- Pediatric Cancer Rehabilitation
- Pediatric Interdisciplinary Inpatient Pain Management
These programs deliver individualized treatment interventions designed to restore and enhance functional independence for children, adolescents, and young adults. Patients may be recovering from neurotrauma, adjusting to new diagnoses, or experiencing functional impairments related to medical treatments.
Faculty from Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine serve as primary care providers for patients admitted to the unit, leading both the medical management and rehabilitation strategies to ensure coordinated, patient-centered care.
Cerebral Palsy Program:
The Cerebral Palsy Clinic at CCHMC provides care for over 2000 patients with a nationally recognized, innovative care model. The division currently offers greater than 20 CP Team clinics per month. Each multidisciplinary team clinic is staffed in an arena format including a pediatric rehabilitation physician, a pediatric physical therapist, a pediatric occupational therapist, a care coordinator, a nurse care manager, and a dietitian who collectively provide holistic care tailored around patient and family goals. In addition to annual Team visits, patients and families access additional rehabilitation care and spasticity management through our many physician-only pediatric CP clinics.
In addition to the Cerebral Palsy Clinics, there are exciting opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations in the following clinical settings at CCHMC:
1. Infant Motor Evaluation Clinic (IMEC) – This is a diagnostic clinic aimed at early CP detection for infants ages 2 years and under. These clinics are staffed by a pediatric rehabilitation physician, infant neurologist, pediatric physical therapist and CP care coordinator. Infants identified as having CP or at high risk for CP are transitioned onto our CP care pathway including CP-specific therapy interventions, community resources and CP clinics.
2. Surgical Spasticity Clinic – patients with CP who have inadequately responded to other spasticity treatments are evaluated at this clinic for intrathecal baclofen pump therapy and ventral or dorsal rhizotomies. Together with a pediatric neurosurgeon and pediatric physical therapist, the pediatric rehabilitation physician contributes to surgical decision-making and follows pre- and post-operative rehabilitation needs and outcomes.
3. CP Surgical Mobility Clinic – Ambulatory patients with CP, particularly those at geographic distances, can explore surgical options to improve their mobility in a condensed 2-day visit which includes a comprehensive physical therapy assessment, gait laboratory analysis and evaluation, and conference with a team of experts comprised of a pediatric rehabilitation physician, pediatric orthopedic surgeon, pediatric neurosurgeon, motion analysis director, and pediatric PT who provide consensus recommendations for tone reduction and/or single event multilevel surgeries and address additional orthotic and rehabilitation needs.
Spina Bifida Center:
The Spina Bifida Center at Cincinnati Children’s provides comprehensive, family-centered care to patients living with spina bifida and other neural tube defects. Through a weekly multidisciplinary clinic with experts from developmental and behavioral pediatrics, urology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and PRM, the clinic provides comprehensive evaluations and care coordination to provide for advanced diagnostics and innovative treatment interventions including fetal surgery through partnership with the Fetal Care Center at Cincinnati Children’s.
Comprehensive Neuromuscular Center:
The Comprehensive Neuromuscular Center at Cincinnati Children’s is dedicated to providing lifelong, longitudinal consultative care for children and adolescents with neuromuscular disorders. Through a team-based care model, the center offers multidisciplinary clinics that bring together experts in neurology, pulmonary medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology, genetics, and pediatric rehabilitation medicine (PRM).
This collaborative team integrates clinical, translational, and basic research strategies to develop individualized care plans tailored to each patient’s unique needs. These plans aim to optimize health outcomes, enhance quality of life, and support families throughout every stage of the patient’s journey.
Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute (CBDI)
CBDI Clinics at Cincinnati Children’s provide comprehensive, longitudinal care for children diagnosed with cancer. Patients are evaluated, treated, and followed throughout survivorship across specialized clinics, including the neuro-oncology, sarcoma, leukemia/lymphoma, and solid tumor clinics.
Multidisciplinary involvement from rehabilitation medicine plays a vital role across all phases of cancer treatment. These specialists offer expert guidance on managing functional impairments that may arise during diagnosis, active treatment, and survivorship. Their input helps inform treatment decisions and supports rehabilitation strategies that promote participation in age-appropriate roles and activities—ultimately enhancing quality of life and long-term outcomes.
Other
The Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s provides expert clinical guidance to children, adolescents, and young adults across a wide range of general and specialized rehabilitation clinics. These include multidisciplinary programs such as the Brain Health and Wellness Clinics, Cerebrovascular and Stroke Clinics, and the Brachial Plexus Palsy Clinic, among others.
With numerous clinic locations throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, the division ensures access to longitudinal rehabilitation care that supports patients through every stage of recovery and development. This broad network allows for continuity of care and individualized treatment plans tailored to each patient’s evolving needs.
The PRM faculty are fortunate and proud to serve together with a large team of allied medical professionals in the OT/PT and Speech and Language Pathology departments who provide expertise in serial casting, orthotics, NMES, intensive therapy protocols including locomotor therapy using robotics and constraint induced movement therapy, and wheelchair seating clinics. The Perlman Center, located within CCHMC, offers a variety of additional services including early intervention and preschool group therapies, comprehensive equipment, communication and assistive technology evaluations, aquatic therapy and corticovisual impairment evaluations.
For more information, please contact Dr. Lala Mendoza at PaolaMaria.Mendoza-Sengco@cchmc.org
Requirements
Qualifications:
- M.D., D.O. or equivalent degree
- Current active medical license issued by the State of Ohio or eligible for license
- Subspecialty board certification or eligible in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine
- Assistant Professor appointment or eligibility
Representative responsibilities:
Patient Care
Provide safe, effective, equitable and compassionate patient care in an interdisciplinary ambulatory setting. Provide oversight of inpatient rehabilitation medical service as well as provide consultative services to other physicians and clinical providers within the medical center to establish a coordinated rehabilitation care plan for each patient. Oversight of spasticity management including neurotoxin injections and intrathecal baclofen pump management.
Teaching
Teaches and supervises the patient care of assigned medical students, residents and fellows, monitoring the medical care to assure care provided is safe and effective. Demonstrate significant on-going contributions to teaching including: ongoing recognition as an excellent teacher, role model and mentor.
Service
Contributions to the development of innovative programs for patient care and quality improvement work.
Scholarly Activity
Demonstrates on-going commitment to and participation in scholarly activities including contributions to original research and publication of original research, clinical observations, reviews, chapters or books.
Desired attributes:
- Respect for cultural differences in the delivery of health care
- Desire to enhance health equity
- Strong patient and family advocate
- Relationship builder and collaborator
- Compassion and emotional intelligence
- Excellent communication skills
