Dr. Lara Shekerdemian Announced as New Chief of Critical Care at Texas Children's Hospital, Leader of Critical Care Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine

HOUSTON - (Sept. 20, 2010) - Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine announced today the arrival of a new leader of CriticalCare coming from The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Lara Shekerdemian, M.D., an internationally recognized leader in pediatric intensive care, will lead a team of 36 pediatric critical care physicians.

She will serve as Chief of Critical Care at Texas Children's, one of thenation's largest children's hospitals, and head of the Critical Care PediatricsSection and professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. TexasChildren's is nationally ranked on the Honor Roll of U.S.News WorldReport's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals.

Shekerdemian, a native of London, England, trained at The Royal BromptonHospital and The Great Ormand Street Hospital in London and at The Hospital forSick Children in Toronto. Before joining Texas Children's, she served as director of Intensive Care at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne,Australia and an associate professor of Pediatrics at the University ofMelbourne. At Royal Children's, she established a groundbreaking program that transported patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)treatment hundreds of miles to the hospital. Despite medical challenges ofproviding critical care in a mobile setting, this service achieved survival rates that rival ECMO programs at some the world's top children's hospitals.

"Dr. Shekerdemian is a world-class leader in critical care,"said Mark W. Kline, M.D. physician-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital and professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at BCM. "We are pleased that she has joined the ranks of other outstanding physicians at TexasChildren's and BCM. I'm confident that she will contribute leadership that will impact pediatric health care around the globe."

About Texas Children’s Hospital

Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Center for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, a second community hospital planned to open in 2017. The organization also created the nation’s first HMO for children, has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.