Bringing better care, awareness to children

The office of pediatric oncologist Dr. Robert Bergamini looks more like a children's play area than a cancer-treatment center. As director of Cardinals Kids Cancer Center at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, Bergamini has filled his office with old arcade games, an air hockey table, Wii Fitness, a swing, and other toys and games that assist with mental and physical development while also providing some comfort and fun to children receiving treatment.

“It's about more than just curing the cancer,” Bergamini said. “It's about giving their childhood back.”

It's that kind of concern for the health and well-being of children that extends far beyond the walls of Bergamini's office.

Bergamini, 59, is one of four honorable mentions for Modern Healthcare's 2013 Community Leadership Award. He has been instrumental in establishing clinics on school campuses that enable students to get basic care they might not otherwise receive and without missing class or their parents missing work.

At Roosevelt High School in St. Louis, Mercy Clinic set up a six-room space designed for routine physicals, immunizations, counseling and mental health needs, and care for minor illnesses and injuries. The clinic even installed telemedicine and video interpreting services to deal with the 21 different languages spoken at the school; for as many as 27% of the students, English is spoken as a second language.

Assessing healthcare needs and then providing a custom solution—“there is no cookie cutter for it,” Bergamini said—has been part of Mercy and Bergamini's mission with these school-based clinics. At Mansfield (Ark.) Elementary School, Mercy opened a clinic this year to address the 85% of students in the school district who haven't seen a physician outside of the emergency room in the past four years. Because employment in the area tends to be long shift work about 30 minutes away, parents often can't take time off from their jobs to use primary-care services. So Mercy and Bergamini brought those services to where kids spend most of their time—their school.

“It's a huge convenience for the parents,” said Sam Slott, principal at Mansfield Elementary. “There is now no excuse ever for one of our children not to see a doctor.”

Bergamini has also been at the forefront of bringing health education to schools with the rollout of HealthTeacher, a Web-based health literacy tool to assist students in making healthier choices related to drugs and alcohol, diet and exercise, sexual activity and safety.

Mercy invested $6 million as part of its partnership with the program, and it was largely up to Bergamini to get schools on board with its implementation. About 860,000 students are already able to access HealthTeacher in the areas Mercy serves, with the system hoping to eventually reach at least 1 million across its four states. Nationwide, HealthTeacher reaches 6 million students through more than 11,000 schools and with the help of partners such as Mercy, Miami Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora.

But HealthTeacher isn't Bergamini's first foray into delivering health education to students. He regularly speaks to high schoolers on the physical and emotional implications of teen sexual activity. Former students have expressed their gratitude for his guidance and support long after they leave school. Bergamini said he has received e-mails and questions from students years after his presentation.

“There was some little bit of memory that I triggered with them,” Bergamini said. “There's a certain satisfaction in knowing that you've made a difference.”

Follow Rachel Landen on Twitter: @MHrlanden