The Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida is bringing pediatric neurosurgical services to the Southwest Florida community.

Chief Nurse and Operations Executive at Golisano Children’s Hospital, Alyssa Bostwick, made the announcement alongside colleagues on Dec. 21. The new service is made possible through a partnership with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, which started in 2019.

“About two years ago, these teams sat down around a table and had a very meaningful conversation about how we can work together to provide the best care and access to care, not only in our regions, but along the west coast of Florida,” Bostwick said. “In that conversation, we quickly focused on the need for pediatric neurosurgical services here at Golisano. With our growing population and the changing demographic, the need was quickly escalating.”

Bostwick said Golisano were transferring more than 100 children each year out of the area for neurosurgical services. Team members have been working on absorbing the proper training, education, policy and procedure development, and equipment procurement.

Bostwick also thanked the community for making this a reality, as 100 percent of the funds for the program were donated philanthropically.

“Every hour of education and training, every piece of equipment, has been funded by the donors and the generosity of our community,” she said.

The new program will allow children who have neurological conditions that require surgery to receive that high level of care at Golisano Children’s Hospital instead of traveling outside of the area to larger cities, like Miami or St. Petersburg. The affiliation with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital started two years ago, when the organizations entered into an agreement to expand care for children across Florida’s west coast by working together to deliver the highest quality care, leverage resources and create better value for families.

“When we began this collaboration with Golisano’s two years ago, our goal was to help expand care for children across the west coast of Florida,” Dr. George Jallo, neurosurgeon, vice dean and physician-in-chief at Johns Hopkins All Children’s and medical director of the hospital’s Institute for Brain Protection Sciences, said. “As we looked to hone into our neurosurgery specialty, we’re proud of the work our team has done to train nursing staff and advanced practice providers and grow this program so that children in Southwest Florida have access to the right pediatric experts.”

Through the affiliation, the two children’s hospitals collaborate in several ways, including pediatric research studies and protocols, telehealth counseling and consultations, educational conferences, and the recruitment of a dedicated pediatric neurosurgeon to be based out of Golisano Children’s Hospital.

Through an extensive recruiting process, Dr. Theodore Spinks, a pediatric neurosurgeon with more than 15 years of experience, has been selected to lead the neurosurgery program at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Spinks recently joined the team and has already performed multiple surgeries that have allowed families to stay in Southwest Florida to receive care.

Lee Health officials said that initially, Spinks and the team at Golisano Children’s Hospital will have a focus on the management and treatment of brain and spine tumors, spina bifida, Chiari malformation, tethered cord, minimally invasive brain and spine surgery, and complex spine surgery. Additional services will be added over time.

“Location should never be a barrier for families,” Spinks, chief of the neurosurgery program at Golisano Children’s Hospital, said. “Before this program, kids who needed that higher level of neurological care likely would have had to go to St. Petersburg or Miami, but now they’re able to receive that care here at Golisano Children’s Hospital. We are so proud to be able to offer this life-saving service to the kids in our community.”

Leadership donors currently include The Bruning Foundation, Dave and Cheryl Copham, Amanda Cross and the Theodore Cross Family Charitable Foundation, The Fernandez Family Foundation, Bill and Julie Vitner, Barbara’s Friends, the Boston Red Sox Celebrity Golf Classic, The Fred B. Snite Foundation, The Forest Country Club, Gateway Trinity Lutheran Church, the International Jaguar Festival, Jersey Mike’s Subs, the Porsche Parade and SanCap Cares. The cause also has received a $1 million challenge grant from The Wasie Foundation.

For more on the Golisano Children’s Hospital, visit www.GolisanoChildrensSWFL.org.

For more about the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, visit www.HopkinsAllChildrens.org.

The Golisano Children’s Hospital is at 9981 S Healthpark Drive, Fort Myers.