Spring 2010 - SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center

The blue hallway of SSM Cardinal Glennon
Children’s Medical Center’s ACC is
buzzing this morning. Blake Noyes, M.D.,
Gary Albers, M.D., and Anthony Rejent, M.D.,
are writing notes, ordering chest x-rays and performing
exams on their young patients.
Some of the Division’s particular interests include:
• Vocal cord dysfunction
• Abnormalities of surfactant protein metabolism
• Impact of CPAP on children with sleep-disordered
breathing
Photography by Stew Smith
But the hustle of the morning doesn’t stop Dr.
Noyes, Director of the Division of Pulmonary
Medicine, from grabbing the stool in a patient’s
room, pulling it beside the exam table where the
child is sitting and asking about his or her latest
activities.
Sara Rohrbough, 17, tells Dr. Noyes that she
performed in the color guard during the half time
show at the Capitol One
Bowl, and Andria Leezy
talks about her 18-monthold
son’s latest game of
running laps around the
dining room table.
The ease of the conversation
isn’t surprising
considering the time Dr.
Noyes has spent with each
of these patients. Sara is
recovering from a bout of
complicated pneumonia
and Mark Leezy, Jr., was
born with cystic fibrosis.
But no matter the history,
each patient who visits one
of the pulmonary clinics
receives compassionate,
individualized care.
The Division of Pulmonary
Medicine holds clinics for
asthma, general pulmonary
medicine, cystic fibrosis
and sleep disorders. Each patient is seen by a physician,
nurse, respiratory therapist, dietitian and
social worker if necessary.
These clinics provide comprehensive care for all
respiratory disorders, including:
• Asthma
• Complicated pneumonia
• Cystic fibrosis
• Chronic cough
• Recurrent pneumonias
• Recurrent or persistent wheezing
• Sleep disorders
Blake Noyes, M.D., examines cystic fibrosis patient
Mark Leezy, Jr., 18 months.
Dr. Noyes suggests referral to a pediatric pulmonary
specialist for all of the following patients:
• Cough for more than 4-6 weeks
• Three or more documented pneumonias in
one year
• Wheezing unresponsive to routine asthma
therapy
• Respiratory symptoms associated with poor
growth
Providing the care are Cardinal
Glennon’s experienced
pulmonologists. Dr. Rejent
served as the Director of the
Cystic Fibrosis Center for 40
years and helped advance the
services for pediatric cystic
fibrosis patients nationwide.
In the summer of 2009, Dr.
Rejent retired from this position
and passed leadership to
Dr. Noyes.
“The one word that would
describe Dr. Noyes is ‘outstanding,’”
Dr. Rejent says of
his successor. “He is outstanding
in his leadership as
a Division Director, in his
organizational abilities and
in his communication with
every member of the Division
from top to bottom, as
well as his patients.”
Along side Dr. Noyes is Dr.
Albers, who also serves as the Medical Director
of the ACC, and Robert Wilmott, M.D., who
sees patients while serving as Cardinal Glennon’s
Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. Shalini
Paruthi, M.D., and Glen Fenton, M.D., co-direct
Cardinal Glennon’s recently-accredited Sleep
Center.
“These faculty have a great understanding of these
diseases and this translates into superb care at the
bedside,” Dr. Rejent says. “I continue to learn a
lot from all of them, and we are fortunate to have
them at Cardinal Glennon.”
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