KOOTENAI HEALTH
:
Why did you
choose your specialty? What about
it is most interesting to you?
DR . WEBB :
I was young when I
chose my specialty. I found it excit-
ing and challenging to take care of
tiny, sick babies. Our knowledge was
growing so fast. Therewere new tech-
nologies, newmedications. Working
in the delivery room, going out on
transports to pick up sick babies
from smaller hospitals—it seemed
like important and dramatic work.
As I have gotten older, the appeal
of the drama has faded. I now fnd
that the most rewarding aspects of
my work have to do with my rela-
tionships with parents and staff as
we work together to make lives bet-
ter for newborns and their families.
DR . HANCOCK :
When we do a
good job, our patients might live
another 100 years. That’s the fun that
balances the sadness of babies born
with problems no one deserves. But
a woman always takes thoughts of
her little patients home and projects
their diseases onto her own children
to some degree. Once my kids were
out of the newborn period, I relaxed
a little. I give a lot of credit to the
pediatricians who have to see some
really sad illnesses.
Having said that, working with
babies and pediatric patients is great
because there is something to smile
and even laugh about on rounds
every day.
KOOTENAI HEALTH
:
How would
you explain your job to someone
who doesn’t understand what it is?
D R . WE B B :
Neonatology is a
subspecialty of pediatrics. I am
a doctor who obtained ext ra
training (a residency) to become a
pediatrician. Then I did a fellowship
to become an expert in the care of
sick newborns. My patients include
premature infants (down to 23
weeks gestation, weighing about
one pound) and full-term infants
who have problems after they are
born. Once they go home, I give
their care back to the pediatrician
who will follow the children as they
get older. I don’t take care of anyone
with teeth!
Part of my job is developing a new
program here at Kootenai so sick ba-
bies don’t have to be separated from
their parents and sent to Spokane.
We are working with a variety of
specialists here to optimize the care
of newborns.
D R . HANCOC K :
We do every-
thing that has to do with the care of
high-risk newborns. With the help
of nurses, respiratory therapists,
physical and occupational thera-
pists, laboratory people, dietitians,
lactation consultants, ultrasonog-
raphers, radiologists, radiology
technicians, health unit coordinators,
social workers andmore experts, we
breathe for our babies and nourish
them and fight infection and get
them to grow and go home.
KOOTENAI HEALTH
:
Where did you
work before Kootenai?
DR . WEBB :
I worked in upstate
New York for about 10 years, and
I spent the last 11 years in Spokane.
DR. HANCOCK:
I was an attending
neonatologist in the neonatal inten-
sive care units at Sacred Heart and
Deaconess in Spokane for 25 years.
KOOTENAI HEALTH
:
Why did you
decide to come to Kootenai and
northern Idaho?
DR. WEBB:
I have loved this area
since I frst came here as a young
adult. I attended North Idaho
‘WE WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE LIVES BETTER
FOR NEWBORNS AND THEIR FAMILIES’
Meet the Specialists
NEONATOLOGISTS KATHLEEN S. WEBB, M.D. , F.A.A.P. , AND
Priscilla J. Hancock, M.D., are developing a program at Kootenai Medical
Center to care for sick newborns.
Kootenai Health
talked with these amazing
physicians about their work and what drives them.
Priscilla J. Hancock, M.D.
Kathleen S. Webb, M.D., F.A.A.P.
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