New Physician Specialists Join St. Luke’s Pediatric Gastroenterology

David A. Blanco, MD, and Kathy D. Chen, MD, Among Philadelphia’s Top Docs 

St. Luke’s Pediatric Gastroenterology, which specializes in the evaluation and treatment of stomach, digestive and nutritional disorders in children, is pleased to announce the addition of pediatric gastroenterologists David A. Blanco, MD, and Kathy D. Chen, MD.

They join pediatric gastroenterologist Leo Heitlinger, MD, and nurse practitioners Laura Brennecke, CPNP, and Susan Holecz, CPNP, expanding patient access to the practice’s highly sought-after expertise.

Working with the patient’s pediatrician or family physician, pediatric gastroenterologists treat infants, children and teens for conditions such as:

• Feeding disorders and Failure to Thrive
• Food allergies
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
• Bowel issues/functional disorders (constipation, voiding problems and chronic diarrhea)
• Liver and pancreas disorders
• Growth and nutrition issues
• Vomiting and gastroesophageal reflux
• Celiac disease

Drs. Blanco and Chen completed fellowships in pediatric gastroenterology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. Both Dr. Blanco and Dr. Chen previously worked at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and were named to Philadelphia Magazine’s Top Doctors 2018 this spring.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 484-526-7575 or visit sluhn.org/PedsGI.

Media Contact:

Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of 14,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 300 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $1.9 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only health care system in central-eastern Pennsylvania to earn Medicare’s five-star rating (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health (formerly Truven Health Analytics) repeatedly – six times total and four years in a row including 2018.  It has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  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.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.