Photo caption: Piper and her father, Evan. (photo provided bySt. Luke’s University Health Network)

Piper Resnikoff was the picture of joy in June, proudly riding her bike the day after her ninth birthday, a birthday doubly special because it was also the last day of school.

And then something usually uneventful happened. Piper, a 9-year-old from Perkasie, fell off the bike.

Her dad, Evan Resnikoff, the Chief of Operations for the Newtown Emergency Medical Services, and mom Rebecca Deucher, immediately knew her right arm did not look normal, and that Piper needed to be taken to an emergency room.

They chose St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus in Quakertown, and he and his family are extremely glad they did. By the next day, they were at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Bethlehem, where St. Luke’s helps kids – and their parents – feel better.

“We had a bad experience at another area ER, and we knew St. Luke’s was a good health system,” Evan said. “She was diagnosed with a grade 3 fracture of the humerus.”

Dustin Greenhill, MD, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, saw Piper during clinical rounds at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital the very next day and he used X-rays to confirm a fracture at the top of the elbow – specifically a supracondylar humerus fracture.

Dr. Greenhill said that most pediatric fractures will heal well on their own if managed properly, but “this area of the body does not straighten itself out very well.”

He performed an incisionless surgery and placed pins to keep the fractured bone straight so it could heal properly. During the surgery, Dr. Greenhill discovered that the fracture was a Grade 4 – the most severe – which can normally only be diagnosed during surgery.

“I really liked Dr. Greenhill,” Piper said. “We went in to find out if we were going to get a cast or not, and I liked how honest he was.”

At St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, every child is treated by someone trained in pediatrics – the doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists – through every stage of a procedure, from preparation and surgery through recovery.

Evan Resnikoff said that they were hoping to see Dr. Greenhill from the get-go.

“Through some parent groups we are in, they highly recommended Dr. Greenhill. We were really pleased with all the care, the nurses, the entire team.  It’s been such a wonderful experience at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Greenhill is a down-to-earth guy, which everyone had told us. The entire team was great with the kids and parents. They explained everything in detail and made what we feel were great recommendations.”

He also praised the St. Luke’s Upper Bucks emergency room.

“We were in and out in two hours, and you don’t find that anywhere,” he said.

Piper’s mom, Rebecca, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, was so impressed, she gave this shoutout on social media, with a photo of Piper in front of St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital:

“This strong girl just finished 4 weeks in a cast after surgery and is doing amazing! Today the cast came off and the pins were removed. The skill and care of the staff at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem and Dr. Greenhill was nothing short of amazing. Piper is ready to ride bikes and climb more trees.”

In a thank-you email, Evan wrote: “We’ve really appreciated Dr. Greenhill and all of the staff here. It makes me want to work here. The care is far and above anywhere I’ve either worked or had to interact with. Everyone from registrations to Anesthesia have been amazing.”

 

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only four-year medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke’s, a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley’s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.

SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.  In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  The Network is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest-cost providers.

Information provided to TVL by:
Sam Kennedy