Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report
Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report
The Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine team treats a wide variety of acute and chronic respiratory disorders and sleep disorders in children. Our Sleep Disorders Program is the only pediatric program in the region accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This means your child will receive the highest level of care available. Additionally, our Cystic Fibrosis Center is accredited by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for clinical care, education and clinical research.
Children treated in the program receive care from a multidisciplinary team. The team includes eight board certified pediatric pulmonologists. The entire pulmonary team is comprised of clinic nurses, nurse practitioners, pediatric respiratory therapists, medical social workers, dietitians, clinical psychologists, polysomnography technologists and more.
Education of other health professionals provides the opportunity to extend our "medical home" concept into their community practices. In this way, we support good communication and continuity of care for our shared patients.
We also provide ongoing community educational support to Greater Kansas City area schools and hold annual seminars for families of children who have Cystic Fibrosis and Narcolepsy.
Program highlights
- The Pulmonary Medicine Service provides comprehensive ambulatory and inpatient services for children with a wide variety of acute and chronic respiratory diseases. Our Pulmonary Function Laboratory provides a full range of diagnostic testing for children of all ages. We collaborate with many divisions throughout Children’s Mercy to provide multi-disciplinary care through sub-specialty clinics.
- We serve the largest population of children with narcolepsy in the region. Special programs, including Narcolepsy Family Education Day, have been developed to meet the complex needs of these children.
- Our Sleep Disorders Program, including an updated and expanded Sleep Laboratory for overnight studies, is the only pediatric program in the region accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
- Our Cystic Fibrosis Center is accredited by the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for clinical care, education and clinical research.
- Our infant and pediatric home ventilator programs enable infants and children to be at home with their families while working toward the goal of freedom from ventilator support.
- We offer in-person and telemedicine visits at several locations across Missouri and Kansas.
Administrative service
Members of the Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine team are active locally, regionally and nationally in administrative service to the health care community.
Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine is represented on more than 30 standing committees within Children’s Mercy and the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
We have representatives on three statewide committees, the Missouri Sleep Society, the Rare Disease Advisory Council which provides recommendations to Missouri HealthNet, and Missouri Maternal-Child Learning and Action Network.
Finally, team members have leadership positions with 25 national committees, representing the following organizations:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine
- American Thoracic Society
- American Board of Pediatrics
- American Lung Association
- Children’s Hospital Neonatal Consortium
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Gilead Sciences
- US News and World Report Pulmonology Working Group
- Wake Up Narcolepsy
Scholarship
Members of the Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine team are fully committed to and engaged in a broad range of scholarly activities, including:
- Clinical and translational research
- Publication in peer-reviewed journals
- Presentations at national meetings of professional organizations
Teaching and Education
Our commitment to teaching and education is no less than to other components of the Children’s Mercy mission. All faculty engage in the education of clinical fellows, residents and medical students using several different formats. We are also engaged in a wide variety of activities for other learners at many levels of their education, exchange programs with allied health care professionals from around the country, Docent programs at UMKC, regional educational consortia, professional CME programs and patient/family education programs.
Sleep tips
Learn about sleep disorders in children and tips and guidelines to better manage them.
Clinical Services
The Super Q Express Clinic at Children's Mercy provides expert, comprehensive medical care from a multidisciplinary team of clinicians for children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and 22q11.2 duplication.
We bring together a team of experts to evaluate all the factors that might be influencing your child’s asthma and address them with medications and lifestyle changes. This multidisciplinary clinic provides care for children with severe, poorly controlled asthma who are at high risk for increased resource utilization and morbidity/mortality.
The Children’s Mercy Cystic Fibrosis Care Center Team provides expert, family-centered care to infants, children and adolescents living with cystic fibrosis. More than 260 families from across the Midwest come to Children’s Mercy each year to receive specialized care for their child at our accredited Care Center.
The Jaw, AirWay and Sleep clinic provides multidisciplinary care for infants and children with complex craniofacial abnormalities that often require the expertise of specialty providers from several areas. Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine joins Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery and allied health care professionals in this endeavor.
Children with pulmonary hypertension—increased pressure in the vessels going from the heart to the lungs—benefit from our team-based approach to care. In collaboration with Cardiology, we provide inpatient and ambulatory services for managing infants and children with pulmonary hypertension. Experts in pediatric heart and lung care, including a pulmonologist, cardiologist and specialized nursing staff, work together to help your family navigate this complex condition.
Children's Mercy has one of the largest pediatric sickle cell programs in the country. This multidisciplinary clinic helps children and adolescents with sickle cell disease who require specialized pulmonary care. We partner with Hematology-Oncology to assess for and manage respiratory complications associated with sickle cell disease.
The Sleep Center at Children's Mercy specializes in the coordination of respiratory support equipment, including CPAP, and other services that are vital to the care of children with medical and behavioral sleep-related issues. Providers conduct in-person and telemedicine visits at all Children’s Mercy locations.
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Asthma challenge testing and education
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Comprehensive pulmonary function testing for children including body plethysmography
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Cystic Fibrosis Center
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Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy and lavage
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Infant pulmonary function testing
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Methacholine or other bronchoprovocation testing
- Neuromuscular Respiratory Disease
- This well-established clinic allows us to work with a multidisciplinary team to address all aspects of preventative and interventional health care for this medically complex and at-risk population.
- This well-established clinic allows us to work with a multidisciplinary team to address all aspects of preventative and interventional health care for this medically complex and at-risk population.
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Patient and caregiver education
- Pediatric Home Ventilator Clinic
- A joint effort with Otolaryngology brings together a team of health care professionals to provide comprehensive care for children with tracheostomies who require chronic home ventilation.
- A joint effort with Otolaryngology brings together a team of health care professionals to provide comprehensive care for children with tracheostomies who require chronic home ventilation.
- Pulmonary Complications of Neuromuscular Diseases
- Patients with a variety neuromuscular diseases — including Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy and Spinal Muscular Atrophy — are seen in this comprehensive, multidisciplinary clinic. Our services include screening examinations, pulmonary function testing, anticipatory guidance, and routine clinical care.
- Patients with a variety neuromuscular diseases — including Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy and Spinal Muscular Atrophy — are seen in this comprehensive, multidisciplinary clinic. Our services include screening examinations, pulmonary function testing, anticipatory guidance, and routine clinical care.
- Pulmonary Complications of Sickle Cell Disease
- Children's Mercy has one the largest pediatric sickle cell programs in the country. This multidisciplinary clinic helps children and adolescents with sickle cell disease who require specialized pulmonary care.
- Children's Mercy has one the largest pediatric sickle cell programs in the country. This multidisciplinary clinic helps children and adolescents with sickle cell disease who require specialized pulmonary care.
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Sleep diagnostic unit and polysomnography
Conditions
- Asthma
- Allergic asthma
- Exercise-induced asthma
- Life-threatening asthma
- Chronic lung disease of prematurity
- Congenital airway and lung abnormalities
- Cystic fibrosis
- Interstitial and diffuse lung disease of childhood
- Pneumonia and respiratory infections
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Pulmonary complications of sickle cell disease
- Pulmonary complications of neuromuscular disease
- Pediatric tracheostomy and home ventilation
- Primary ciliary dyskinesia
- Restrictive lung disease (neuromuscular and thoracic disorders)
- Sleep disorders
- Sleep apnea
- Narcolepsy
- Restless limb and sleep-related movement disorders
- Behavioral insomnia and sleep disorders
- Parasomnias (sleep terrors, sleep walking)
Stories
Eosinophilic asthma: Hunter's story
In a matter of a few hours, Hunter Box went from being a healthy, active 17-year-old, to a severely ill teen struggling for his next breath. After two hospitalizations, he was diagnosed with eosinophilic asthma and a rare complication called plastic bronchitis. Now, thanks to the Children’s Mercy Advanced Asthma Interdisciplinary Respiratory (AAIR) Clinic, Hunter’s asthma is under control.
Contact information
Patients and families
To make an appointment
(816) 983-6490
We strongly encourage families to contact our hospital directly to schedule appointments and we request that patients bring relevant medical records and X-rays with them on their first visit.
Health care professionals
Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine Division Office
(816) 983-6644
Pulmonary patients
(816) 983-6490
Pulmonology lab
(816) 234-3422
Cystic fibrosis patients
(816) 983-6490
Sleep disorder patients
(913) 696-8518 (Option #4)
Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas Sleep Diagnostic Unit
(913) 696-8518 (Option #2)
Children's Mercy College Boulevard Sleep Disorders Clinic
(816) 983-6355
Children's Mercy Northland Sleep Disorders Clinic
(816) 983-6490
- Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
- Advanced Asthma Interdisciplinary Respiratory (AAIR) Clinic
- Cystic Fibrosis Care Center
- Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship
- Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
- Respiratory Outpatient Clinic (ROC)
- Respiratory Outpatient Clinic: Update for Providers
- Sleep Center
- Sleep Medicine Fellowship
- PHIL Award Nomination Form
- Meet the Team