Phoenix Children’s Hospital launches Division of Anesthesiology

By

Hannah Saunders

|

Phoenix Children’s Hospital, one of the fastest growing pediatric health centers in the country, launched a Division of Anesthesiology and announced the leadership team for the Division last month. Dr. Narasimhan “Sim” Jagannathan is acting as Division Chief, while Dr. Amod Sawardekar is Associate Division Chief.

“Phoenix Children’s is preparing to welcome patients at Phoenix Children’s Hospital – East Valley in 2023 and at Phoenix Children’s Hospital – Arrowhead in 2024, and we are taking steps to extend the exceptional quality and service for which we are known to all points of inpatient and outpatient care in our integrated health system,” Dr. Daniel J. Ostlie, Surgeon in Chief, said. 

 

Stay one step ahead. Join our email list for the latest news.

Subscribe

 

 

Part of Phoenix Children’s overall strategic plan during a phase of continued growth includes building an integrated medical group for all areas of operations, including anesthesiology. A top priority for Dr. Ostlie, Dr. Jagannathan, and Dr. Sawardekar is ensuring each surgical patient and their families receive consistent, high quality, and safe care at all sites. Dr. Jagannathan is also committed to educating future anesthesia providers.

“I look forward to being part of Phoenix Children’s commitment to clinical best practices and continuous quality improvement efforts,” Dr. Jagannathan said. “It’s an exciting time to join this health system, as the pediatric population in Arizona is booming and we have additional sites of services opening over the next few years.”

Dr. Jagannathan and Dr. Sawardekar most recently held leadership positions at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Jagannathan completed his residency at Cleveland Clinic, and his anesthesia fellowship at Lurie Children’s.

After his fellowship, Dr. Jagannathan joined a private practice in Chicago where he became vice president before joining Lurie Children’s. Clinical and academic leadership roles held at Lurie Children’s include Vice Chair & Division Head of Clinical Academic Anesthesiology; Section Chief of Liver Transplant Anesthesiology; and Medical Director of Research and Associate Chair of Academic Affairs for the Department of Anesthesia.

Dr. Sawardekar completed his residency at Rush University Medical Center, and his fellowship in pediatric anesthesia at Lurie Children’s. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree as part of his commitment to improving operations. Further training prepared Dr. Sawardekar to serve in administrative leadership roles such as the Associate Chair of Operations, and the Director of Regional Anesthesia at Lurie Children’s. With Phoenix Children’s, Dr. Sawardekar will also assume the role as Director of Perioperative Services and Operations. 

In addition to Dr. Jagannathan and Dr. Sawardekar, 39 experienced providers who recently transitioned from longstanding private practices at Phoenix Children’s Medical Group will also be joining the pediatric anesthesiology division. Many of these providers hold subspecialties within anesthesia, including pediatric pain management, cardiology, and transplantation, among others. 

In the coming months a strong focus will be placed on growing the anesthesiology division and building out a team of pediatric anesthesiologists, including a team of subspecialists.