Four Pediatric Specialists Join Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital

The medical staff at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital welcomes new physicians: Leslie Jurecko, MD, Surender Rajasekaran , MD, Sharon Smith, MD, and Olufemi Soyode, MD.

Dr. Jurecko is a hospitalist. She provides care for hospitalized patients who do not have a primary care physician or whose primary care physician prefers the hospitalist team to care for their patients while in the hospital.

Dr. Jurecko is board certified in pediatrics. She earned her medical degree from Wayne State University and completed a pediatric residency at Northwestern University, Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Rajasekaran is a critical care specialist. He provides care to infants, children and adolescents with traumatic injuries or’life-threatening illnesses or following major surgery in the region’s largest pediatric critical care unit.

Dr. Rajasekaran comes to Grand Rapids from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he served as an assistant professor. He also provided care at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, where he was an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

He is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric critical care. He earned his medical degree and completed a pediatric residency at Ogun State University in Nigeria. He also completed a pediatric residency at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City where he served as chief resident. He completed a pediatric critical care fellowship at the University of Florida.

Dr. Smith is a hematologist/oncologist. She provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary specialty care, treating infants, children, teens and young adults with hematology, coagulation and oncology disorders.

Dr. Smith comes to Grand Rapids from Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Diseases at Riley Hospital North in Carmel, Indiana where she was a professor of clinical pediatrics at Indiana University.

She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology. She earned her medical degree and completed a pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Soyode is a neurologist. He provides medical care for children with brain and nervous system disorders.

He is board certified in pediatrics. He earned his medical degree at the University of Lagos in Nigeria. He completed a pediatric residency at Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies followed by a pediatric neurology fellowship at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a member of Spectrum Health, is a Grand Rapids-based hospital serving children throughout Michigan . A teaching hospital, it includes more than 150 pediatric specialty physicians with specialized training in providing medical and surgical care to children in more than 40 pediatric specialties. Visit devoschildrens.org to learn more or devoschildrens.org/2011 to learn about the new hospital opening in 2011.