The Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) at Riley Hospital for Children and IU Health Methodist Hospital are putting visitor restrictions in place starting Monday, Nov. 18th. Only visits by parents plus four designated adults identified by the parents will be allowed on the NICU floor.
Siblings and children under 18 will not be permitted. These restrictions minimize risk of infection to patients already at risk and will be in place through spring 2020.
President
Matthew Cook joined Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in 2016. He is responsible for providing overall strategic direction and leadership for pediatric services throughout IU Health, which includes direct executive oversight of Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, along with shared program oversight for pediatric programs based at other IU Health facilities.
Cook comes to IU Health from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he most recently served as executive vice president of Strategic Planning and Business Development. Before that, he served for nine years as a principal at The Chartis Group, based in Chicago. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions at several healthcare-related institutions, including APM Management Consultants, Computer Sciences Corporation and CareScience, Inc.
Cook has an MBA from New York University, where he graduated as class valedictorian. He graduated cum laude from The Wharton School, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts in German. He is an accomplished public speaker and has published several articles.
Chief Medical Officer
As chief medical officer, Elaine Cox oversees key clinical hospital operations and helps create an excellent practice environment to ensure optimal outcomes for patients. She is responsible for quality and safety programs, helps with physician recruitment, and supports research and teaching initiatives for Riley Children’s Health while working closely with medical staff.
Cox has served several leadership roles at Riley since joining the team in 1995, including patient safety officer and medical director of infection prevention. She played a key role in the development of the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and Global Health, based at Indiana University School of Medicine, and ran the outpatient center for 16 years.
She is a graduate of IU School of Medicine, serves as professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the school, and is president of the IU Health academic health center medical staff for 2018.
Chief Operating Officer
As chief operating officer, Paul R. Haut is responsible for operationalizing the strategic vision and priorities for the statewide children’s health network as well as Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.
Formerly the chief medical officer for the children’s hospital, Haut is a board-certified pediatric oncologist and an associate professor of Pediatrics with Indiana University School of Medicine. He was Riley’s interim president from April 2015 to April 2016, and he formerly served as the director of the Riley Stem Cell Transplant Program at IU Health.
He is a graduate of Brown University and received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Before joining Riley at IU Health in 2002, Haut was a pediatric oncologist and transplant physician at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Chief Nursing Officer
Elizabeth (Liz) Linden is chief nursing officer for Riley Children’s Health, leading nursing operations and strategy through strong relationships, positive team member engagement and the promotion of an environment of compassion for children and their families.
Linden has nearly two decades of nursing and leadership experience, with integral roles with women’s health, adult services, cancer genetics and community outreach. She joined team Riley as clinical director for the Medical/Surgical Care Center and then served as Riley’s first associate CNO.
An accomplished, insightful leader, Linden has a knack for supporting and guiding people through complex situations and competing priorities. She holds a doctorate degree in nursing practice from Indiana University and is an active member in the American Organization of Nurse Executives and American Nurses Association. Linden also serves on the board of Chaucie’s Place, where she works to support the end of child sexual abuse and teen suicide.
Chief Financial Officer
As chief financial officer for Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Frank Runion directs the financial operations and strategic financial planning for Riley at IU Health and the pediatric service line. His areas of oversight include budget, financial analysis and planning, capital management and workforce contract management.
Runion has been with IU Health for 13 years. Before that, he worked at St.Vincent Health and Wishard Health Services. He has close to 25 years of healthcare financial experience in various healthcare settings.
He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Anderson University, is a certified public accountant and a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, CFO Forum. Runion is also on the Board of the Central Indiana Council of Aging and serves as the treasurer for their foundation. Runion is also active in his community serving on the Fishers Youth Baseball Board as well as serving on the board at his church.
Chairman, Department of Pediatrics
D. Wade Clapp, MD, is the Chairman of the department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Clapp was named Chairman of Pediatrics in 2009. He oversees 960 Pediatric faculty members throughout the state of Indiana and more than 150 pediatric residents. Physicians in the department of Pediatrics provide medical care for the patients of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health—ranked one of the nation's best children's hospitals by U.S. News and World Report and one of only 10 Children’s Hospitals that are ranked in all areas of medical care.
Dr. Clapp is a neonatologist and a physician/scientist with an active research lab and NIH grant support focusing on translational research in childhood cancer. He is the Richard L. Schreiner Professor of Pediatrics, a professor of Microbiology & Immunology and professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Indiana University. He joined the faculty of Indiana University School of Medicine in 1991 as a physician and researcher at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research. His research is internationally acclaimed and has resulted in several breakthrough clinical trials.
Dr. Clapp graduated cum laude from Hanover College and received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1982. He completed his residency and chief residency at Indiana University School of Medicine followed by a fellowship at Case Western Reserve University.
As a physician, he does clinical work at the neonatal intensive care units at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health and Eskenazi, where he served as director of the unit for five years.
Surgeon-in-Chief
Fred Rescorla, MD, is surgeon-in-chief and director of the Division of Pediatric Surgery for Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery, pediatric surgery and surgical critical care and was named a “Top Doctor” by U.S. News & World Report.
After completing undergraduate studies at Calvin College, Rescorla attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin. He completed a general surgery residency and a pediatric surgery residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Rescorla then joined the faculty in the section of pediatric surgery at IU School of Medicine, developing an active clinical practice focused on minimally invasive surgery and oncologic surgery.
Rescorla has been active with clinical research through the Children Oncology Group (COG), with a focus on germ cell tumors. He is a member of the surgical executive committee of COG. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Association of Pediatrics and is a member of various societies, including the Society of University Surgeons, American Pediatric Surgical Association, Central Surgical Association, British Association of Pediatric Surgeons and the Association of Academic Surgery. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as more than 60 book chapters.
Rescorla is active in teaching and has been recognized by the medical students as an outstanding professor on many occasions and has also received the Trustees Teaching Award. He has served as an active member of the faculty, instructing residents in general surgery and post-graduate residents in pediatric surgery. He has also been active in advancing pediatric surgical care in several Third World countries and has lectured and taught pediatric surgical techniques on many occasions in Africa.