Children’s Hospital & Medical Center is recruiting pediatric specialists from coast to coast so Omaha area families in need of high-quality care can stay close to home.

This year alone, despite having to navigate COVID-19 limitations, Children’s has hired 35 pediatric physicians, specialists in everything from infectious disease to neonatology; cardiology, including cardiac critical care; genetics, pulmonology and plastic surgery.

“Plastic surgery is one of those specialties where we can offer technique and innovation to benefit families,” said pediatric plastic surgeon Oluwaseun “Seun” Adetayo, M.D.

Arriving at Children’s in February, Dr. Adetayo has been focused on the art and science of health care since she was a child in Lagos, Nigeria, immigrating and overcoming adversity to earn acclaim as one of the top plastic surgeons in the U.S.

“It’s a privilege for me to play a part in the lives of children, to see them grow and see the positive impact of the work we do in a developing person,” she said. “This is a field where I can not only make a difference in a child’s life by changing their appearance, but also by improving their sense of self, their sense of worth and really giving them back the gift of ‘I can be anything I want to be and anything is possible.’”

Veteran pediatric neurosurgeon Arnett Klugh, M.D., is another exciting addition to Children’s team. He started in October, eager to help accelerate that service line and enhance Children’s standing as an academic medical center.

“The goal is to really combine the academic strengths of this institution with the clinical strengths,” Dr. Klugh said. “We want to continue to be a leader in the management of pediatric neurosurgical disorders—and not just by being clinically outstanding, but also by contributing back to the body of neuroscience that has really gifted us the opportunity to take care of kids.”

Dr. Klugh spent more than a decade at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Calif., where he led the pediatric neurosurgery service line. Hesitant, at first, about a potential move to Nebraska, he was converted after his interview at Children’s.

“Purpose is an extremely powerful thing. When you can recognize that and see that a group of people has a similar North Star—in this case, taking care of children, it’s hard not to want to be a part of that,” Dr. Klugh said.

Children’s has been recruiting aggressively to meet local and regional needs and prepare for the 2021 opening of the expansive Hubbard Center for Children. The pediatric health care leader plans to add another 40+ physicians next year.

Before coming to Omaha, Dr. Adetayo practiced in upstate New York, where she established the first-ever regional multidisciplinary Cleft-Craniofacial Center in northeastern New York.

Like Dr. Klugh, her visit to Children’s convinced her to make the move: “I really felt the passion of everyone I met during the visit wanting to do the right thing for the kids.”

8200 Dodge St.
402-955-5400
childrensomaha.org