Allegheny Health Network Names Prominent Local Physician Chair of Pediatrics Department

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“I am extremely proud and excited to lead Allegheny Health Network’s Department of Pediatrics, which I consider one of Pittsburgh’s best-kept secrets,” - Joseph F. Aracri, DO

PITTSBURGH, PA. (PRWEB) June 22, 2014

Allegheny Health Network today announced the appointment of Joseph F. Aracri, DO, as Chair of its Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Aracri will assume his new role with the organization on July 1, 2014.

A native of Pittsburgh, Dr. Aracri has practiced medicine as part of Pediatric Alliance PC, the largest private pediatric group in western Pennsylvania, for the past 18 years and has served as its president since 2009. He will continue to see patients at Pediatric Alliance.

“I am extremely proud and excited to lead Allegheny Health Network’s Department of Pediatrics, which I consider one of Pittsburgh’s best-kept secrets,” Dr. Aracri said. “The department’s dedicated and talented professionals provide exceptional inpatient and outpatient care to children.”

Pediatric Alliance was formed in 1996 with the merger of eight individual pediatrics practices. Since then, Pediatric Alliance has grown to become the largest physician-owned group pediatric practice in the Pittsburgh area, offering care to children and adolescents in 10 office locations, and two specialty care offices for asthma, allergy and immunology, and pediatric endocrinology. The practice employs a staff of 245, including 45 health care providers.

Dr. Aracri’s special interests include childhood obesity, developmental pediatrics and sports medicine. He also serves as clinical instructor in pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and is part of Congressman Tim Murphy’s Healthcare Advisory Board.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Aracri to the physician leadership team at Allegheny Health Network,” said Tony Farah, MD, chief medical officer at Allegheny Health Network. “Pediatrics is an important clinical program for our growing organization as it strives to provide the community with a more complete spectrum of high quality, convenient services. Dr. Aracri’s impressive experience in healthcare management and commitment to clinical excellence will serve us well as we seek to further enhance the quality and scope of our pediatric capabilities.”

Dr. Aracri graduated from Allegheny College and received his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He completed his pediatric residency at the former Mercy Children’s Medical Center in Pittsburgh and is a member of the American Association of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association.

At Allegheny Health Network, Dr. Aracri will lead a Department of Pediatrics that provides a broad range of inpatient and outpatient care, including general pediatrics, pediatric critical care, asthma, allergy and immunology, and neonatology services. The Department includes more than 120 affiliated physicians.

The Pediatric Department’s programs include:

• AGH Kids Pediatrics at Allegheny General Hospital, a comprehensive pediatrics practice that provides care to children from birth to age 21. In the event a child needs to be admitted to AGH, pediatric hospitalists are in-house 24 hours a day to deliver continuous, personalized care.
• West Penn Hospital’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a 40-bed unit providing the highest level of care to neonates. West Penn also offers a 16-bed step-down unit for sick infants who do not need NICU-level care.
• The Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Forbes Regional Hospital and Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie.
• Division of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a nationally and internationally recognized program for children and adolescents, offering patients access to innovative therapies and clinical trials.

• West Penn Burn Center, the region’s only center to be verified for pediatric burn care by the American Burn Association.
• The Center for Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents at Allegheny General Hospital, a world-renowned program for the treatment of children who have suffered emotional trauma ranging from the death of a parent to natural disasters to bullying.
• Pediatric orthopedic care at the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Institute, which offers state-of-the-art care for children with a variety of conditions including cerebral palsy, club foot, scoliosis, spina bifida and bone tumors, as well as traumatic injuries and sports injuries.

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