For more information, contact

For more information, contact:
Sarah Yonker, Director of Marketing
410-641-9663
[email protected]
Friday, February 21, 2014
For Immediate Release…
TELEMEDICINE MAKES TREATMENT EASIER FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISIM
SPECTRUM DISORDERS, DEVELOPMENTAL and LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
Berlin, Md. – Every day, new technology is invented that seems to shrink the globe, bringing
everything we need closer to the Eastern Shore. This has not been the case for certain specialty
health care. Until now.
Atlantic General Hospital is the first hospital in the nation to partner with Kennedy Krieger
Institute to provide telemedicine services to children with autism, ADD / ADHD, intellectual
disabilities, and other developmental disorders living far from specialty care.
Often a referral for specialty care means a trip to Baltimore and a six-hour round trip drive, with
additional expenses for gas, food, parking and tolls. This can leave patients and their families
exhausted before they even say hello to the doctor.
In Worcester County and the surrounding areas, the experience is changing for some children
with special needs and their parents. On December 13, Atlantic General Hospital and Kennedy
Krieger Institute’s Center for Development and Learning began a pilot project using telemedicine
technology to treat pediatric patients with developmental and learning disorders.
Dr. Deepa Menon, the assistant medical director at Kennedy Krieger’s Center for Autism and
Related Disorders, and Dr. Paul Lipkin, the director of Kennedy Krieger’s Center for
Development and Learning, are providing complete care, with initial evaluations and follow up
visits, using encrypted telemedicine technology transmits both audio and video of the patient and
doctor in real time.
The physicians are able to interact with patients and their families in the same way they would in
an actual exam room.
And patients receive the consultations and treatment from these specialists at the conveniently
located Atlantic Health Center, on the Atlantic General Hospital’s main campus in Berlin, Md.
“The convenience for these families is tremendous,” said Deborah Wolf, Director of the Atlantic
Health Center. “Patients will receive the same quality of care through our telemedicine
technology as they would if they traveled to Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. We’re very
happy that we are able to provide this service to patients and their families, some of whom would
not otherwise be able to access this kind of care.”
Atlantic General Hospital is an experienced provider of telemedicine services. In 2008, Atlantic
General Hospital entered into a telemedicine partnership with five Maryland hospitals to provide
long distance monitoring of our ICU patients. This service complements the care provided by the
unit’s intensivists and nursing staff, while providing additional safety measures for our sickest
patients.
In 2011, AGH also partnered with Sheppard Pratt Health System to provide telemedicine
psychiatric services. The Atlantic Health Center’s Behavioral Health Program has utilized
telemedicine in conjunction with onsite psychiatrist Ken Widra, MD, and licensed clinical social
worker Paul Ganster to expand much needed care to our region.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 410-629-6881 or 410-641-3340.
About Atlantic General Hospital
Atlantic General Hospital has been providing quality health care to the residents of Worcester,
Wicomico, Somerset (Md.) and Sussex (Del.) counties since May 1993. Built by the commitment
and generosity of a dedicated community, the hospital’s state-of-the-art facility in Berlin, Md.,
combines old-fashioned personal attention with the latest in technology and services. It provides
quality specialty care such as weight loss surgery, orthopedics, outpatient infusion for individuals
with cancer or blood/autoimmune disorders, retina surgery and a comprehensive women’s
diagnostic center. Atlantic General Health System, its network of more than 40 primary care
providers and specialists, care for residents and visitors throughout the region. For more
information about Atlantic General Hospital, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org.
About the Kennedy Krieger Institute
Internationally recognized for improving the lives of children and adolescents with
disorders and injuries of the brain and spinal cord, the Kennedy Krieger Institute in
Baltimore, MD serves more than 20,000 individuals each year through inpatient and
outpatient clinics, home and community services and school-based programs. Kennedy
Krieger provides a wide range of services for children with developmental concerns mild
to severe, and is home to a team of investigators who are contributing to the
understanding of how disorders develop while pioneering new interventions and earlier
diagnosis. For more information on the Kennedy Krieger Institute, visit
www.kennedykrieger.org.
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Caption: Dornese Whittington, Clinical Coordinator for Developmental, Learning and Autism
Services at Atlantic General Hospital (left), works with a young patient at the Atlantic Health
Center in Berlin, Md., while Kennedy Krieger specialists Deepa Menon, M.D., and Paul Lipkin,
M.D., observe from Baltimore.

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