Support & Wellness Services
The care of children and adolescents with digestive diseases and disorders goes beyond diagnosis and treatment. For young patients, a digestive disease can affect the daily routine, diet, social interactions, and even time spent learning. The Center for Advanced Digestive Care (CADC) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center understands this impact, and provides numerous services that go beyond treating the disease — often at little to no cost to CADC patients. These services include:
- Nutritional counseling
- Genetic counseling
- Educational and emotional support
- Peer-based experience sharing through our 1-to-1 patient support program
- Transitional care as an adolescent approaches adulthood
Through all support services, CADC providers can help patients and families identify helpful tools and resources available to help them with their medical care.
School & Child Life Services
Digestive diseases can take young patients away from the classroom and activities crucial to their development. The staff at the CADC works with patients and families to address educational and emotional issues.
Because we know that any hospitalization brings with it anxiety and stress, we have several child life programs available that are designed to address your child's emotional needs and help make the hospital stay less intimidating.
Nutritional Assessment & Counseling
Nutritional counseling by registered dietitians at the CADC can help reduce disease recurrence and alleviate patients' symptoms. Mindful of the central role that nutrition plays in treating and managing digestive disorders, our pediatric gastroenterologists conduct a thorough nutritional assessment of all our pediatric patients, looking carefully at vitamin and nutrient levels, caloric intake, and overall well-being. Since many digestive diseases often occur before or during adolescence, we focus on correcting nutritional deficiencies early to support normal growth and development. Our nutrition team helps guide patients toward a sound diet and appropriate nutritional therapies to prevent and treat digestive disorders and to support recovery and healing after surgery.
Alexis Fissinger, RD, CDN, is a Registered Dietitian specializing in pediatrics as a provider of medical nutrition therapy for the Center for Advanced Digestive Care. Alexis graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Montclair State University and is completing her Masters Degree in Clinical Nutrition at NYU. She completed both her dietetic internship and post-grad fellowship in pediatrics and obstetrics here at NewYork-Presbyterian. She then went on to further specialize in pediatrics as Clinical Dietitian in acute care pediatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital before accepting her current position with CADC at the Weill Cornell Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.
Social Work
A GI diagnosis in childhood can be exceptionally troubling to young patients. Our pediatric social worker can help patients and their families understand and cope with the medical, psychological, and social issues related to their illness.
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Jenisabel Pyzikiewicz, LMSW, is bilingual licensed social worker serving the GI pediatrics department in the Center for Advanced Digestive Care. Jenisabel received her BSW at Temple University and MSW at the University of Pittsburgh. Jenisabel is also working towards her Child and Family therapy certificate through NYU’s continuing education program. Jenisabel has served children and families in many different capacities including in medical foster care and school social work. Jenisabel is passionate about trauma-focused work, crisis and grief counseling, individual, family and group therapy, socialization skills, meditation and serving children and families holistically to ensure their social-emotional well-being. |
Genetic Counseling
Genetic evaluation and testing can help to make a definitive diagnosis in a child, as well as predict the risk of developing a digestive disease in future children or other family members. We perform a battery of molecular genetic tests for children with conditions that often run in families. Improved understanding of genetics allows us to offer earlier care and more targeted therapies to children with a family history of these disorders, giving them the opportunity to build healthy lives. Genetic education and counseling help patients understand and cope with the results of genetic tests.
Learn more about genetic counseling at the CADC.
Transitional Care
In many cases, your child's illness is a diagnosis that will require lifelong vigilance, special care, and follow-up. The CADC therefore has a transition program to help adolescent patients take charge of their own medical care when the time comes to move from pediatric to adult health care.
As a way to initiate a pathway to self-sufficiency and assist patients in taking charge of their health as young adults, the transition program begins during adolescence. Partnering with our patients, we introduce them to their new physicians and specialists; help them understand the critical importance of keeping up-to-date with their therapies and appointments; and provide them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to make responsible decisions affecting their care. In addition to standard transitional discussions with to all patients and their families, the CADC has now offers a formal program for adolescent patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis due the chronic and often severe nature of their inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis.
Learn about support and wellness services for adults at the Center for Advanced Digestive Care.
Contact us
To make an appointment with one of our specialists for your child and to access our full range of digestive healthcare services, please call:
You may also find a doctor online.