UChicago Faculty Physician
Wendy S. Darlington, MD
Wendy S. Darlington, MD
UChicago Faculty Physician
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Specialties
- Pediatric Hematology & Oncology (Pediatric Cancer)
Locations
- Chicago - Comer Children's Hospital
- Crown Point, IN - Virginia Street
- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
I'm Wendy Darlington, I am a physician in pediatric hematology oncology. And what that means is that I take care of kids with serious blood and cancer disorders. I came to Comer originally to complete my fellowship in pediatric hematology oncology. And I stayed because I really believe in the mission of taking care of patients that sometimes don't have people advocating and speaking for themselves.
Being able to meet people where they're at and do that work has been very special. I also love the family and the community that Comer represents. So from everybody to the trainees that we interact with, to the faculty, to the front desk staff, to EVS, we all really work with one mission in mind, which is to take the absolute best care of our patients.
My philosophy of care is one of empowering patients and their families to make the best possible decisions in sometimes really complex cases. I always promise all of my patients I'm going to tell them what I know, when I know it, so that they can feel like they can trust me and that we can take that journey together. Sometimes, we walk really long journeys. And sometimes, we walk shorter journeys. Sometimes, they're more serious. And sometimes, they're less serious.
And I want to make sure that every family and patient feels heard and seen when I'm taking care of them. From a clinical care perspective, I take care of patients with sickle cell disease, and I care passionately about that patient population. And in fact, my research really focuses on social determinants of health and how we can support patients in a holistic way to have the best outcomes possible. I also take care of patients with brain tumors.
So I do things that are really serious from that perspective as well. And so I have a nice wide variety of patients that I take care of. I really believe that pediatric hematology oncology is special because of the relationships we get to build with families.
So I think there's a mix between getting to do general pediatric care, but also getting to do some of the most complex and intense medicine that is out there. And getting to do it with kids is just, for me, really rewarding. I think that being able to use my mind but also my compassion and empathy on a daily basis is what drives me forward.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Being able to meet people where they're at and do that work has been very special. I also love the family and the community that Comer represents. So from everybody to the trainees that we interact with, to the faculty, to the front desk staff, to EVS, we all really work with one mission in mind, which is to take the absolute best care of our patients.
My philosophy of care is one of empowering patients and their families to make the best possible decisions in sometimes really complex cases. I always promise all of my patients I'm going to tell them what I know, when I know it, so that they can feel like they can trust me and that we can take that journey together. Sometimes, we walk really long journeys. And sometimes, we walk shorter journeys. Sometimes, they're more serious. And sometimes, they're less serious.
And I want to make sure that every family and patient feels heard and seen when I'm taking care of them. From a clinical care perspective, I take care of patients with sickle cell disease, and I care passionately about that patient population. And in fact, my research really focuses on social determinants of health and how we can support patients in a holistic way to have the best outcomes possible. I also take care of patients with brain tumors.
So I do things that are really serious from that perspective as well. And so I have a nice wide variety of patients that I take care of. I really believe that pediatric hematology oncology is special because of the relationships we get to build with families.
So I think there's a mix between getting to do general pediatric care, but also getting to do some of the most complex and intense medicine that is out there. And getting to do it with kids is just, for me, really rewarding. I think that being able to use my mind but also my compassion and empathy on a daily basis is what drives me forward.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Wendy Darlington, MD, MAPP, is a board certified pediatric hematologist/oncologist. Dr. Darlington specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant hematologic disorders in children, including sickle cell disease, acute leukemias and more. She is also the director of our pediatric neuro-oncology program where she and a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists take care of children and adolescents with brain and spine tumors.
Along with her clinical work, Dr. Darlington’s primary research focuses on examining access to care issues among children with chronic health care needs. She has several ongoing projects designed to better understand health care utilization and other socioeconomic indicators among patients with sickle cell disease. She is also evaluating how public policies intended to increase access and appropriate health care utilization are changing patient outcomes.
Areas of Expertise
- Pediatric Oncology
- Pediatric Hematology
- Anemias
- Healthcare Disparities
- Hemoglobinopathies
- Pediatric Brain & Spinal Cord Tumors
Board Certifications
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
- Pediatrics
Languages Spoken
- English
Medical Education
- University of Texas Medical School
Internship
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Residency
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Fellowship
- University of Chicago Medicine
Memberships & Medical Societies
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Society of Hematology
- American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
News & Research
Insurance
- Aetna Better Health *see insurance page
- Aetna HMO (specialists only)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- Aetna POS
- Aetna PPO
- BCBS Blue Precision HMO (specialists only)
- BCBS HMO (HMOI) (specialists only)
- BCBS Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- BCBS PPO
- Cigna HMO
- Cigna POS
- Cigna PPO
- CountyCare *see insurance page
- Humana Medicare Advantage Choice PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Choice PFFS
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Plus HMO
- Medicare
- Multiplan PPO
- PHCS PPO
- United Choice Plus POS/PPO
- United Choice HMO (specialists only)
- United Options (PPO)
- United Select (HMO & EPO) (specialists only)
- United W500 Emergent Wrap
- University of Chicago Health Plan (UCHP)
Our list of accepted insurance providers is subject to change at any time. You should contact your insurance company to confirm UChicago Medicine participates in their network before scheduling your appointment. If you have questions regarding your insurance benefits at UChicago Medicine, please contact our financial counseling team at OPSFinancialCounseling@uchospitals.edu.
UChicago Medicine is committed to fostering a corporate culture of ethical behavior and integrity in all matters related to compliance with the laws and regulations that govern the delivery of healthcare. This aspiration is central to supporting patient care, research, and teaching at UChicago Medicine.
Some of our physicians and health professionals collaborate with external pharmaceutical, medical device, or other medical related entities to develop new treatments and products to improve clinical outcomes for patients. In some instances, the physician has ownership interests in the external entity and/or is compensated for advising or speaking about the entity’s products or treatments. These payments may include compensation for consulting and speaking engagements, equity, and/or royalties for products invented by our physicians. To assure objectivity and integrity in patient care, UChicago Medicine requires all physicians and health professionals to report their relationships and financial interests with external entities on an annual basis. This information is used to review relationships and transactions that might give rise to potential financial conflicts of interest, and when considered to be significant a management plan to mitigate any biases is created.
If you are a patient at UChicago Medicine and would like more information about your physician’s external relationships, please talk with your physician. You may also visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ . CMS Open Payments is a national disclosure program that promotes a more transparent and accountable health care system. It houses a publicly accessible database of payments that reporting entities, including drug and medical device companies, make to covered recipients like physicians and hospitals.
Information in the CMS Open Payments database could potentially contain inaccurately reported and out of date payment information. All information is open to personal interpretation, if there are questions about the data, patients and their advocates should speak directly to their health care provider for a better understanding.
Some of our physicians and health professionals collaborate with external pharmaceutical, medical device, or other medical related entities to develop new treatments and products to improve clinical outcomes for patients. In some instances, the physician has ownership interests in the external entity and/or is compensated for advising or speaking about the entity’s products or treatments. These payments may include compensation for consulting and speaking engagements, equity, and/or royalties for products invented by our physicians. To assure objectivity and integrity in patient care, UChicago Medicine requires all physicians and health professionals to report their relationships and financial interests with external entities on an annual basis. This information is used to review relationships and transactions that might give rise to potential financial conflicts of interest, and when considered to be significant a management plan to mitigate any biases is created.
If you are a patient at UChicago Medicine and would like more information about your physician’s external relationships, please talk with your physician. You may also visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ . CMS Open Payments is a national disclosure program that promotes a more transparent and accountable health care system. It houses a publicly accessible database of payments that reporting entities, including drug and medical device companies, make to covered recipients like physicians and hospitals.
Information in the CMS Open Payments database could potentially contain inaccurately reported and out of date payment information. All information is open to personal interpretation, if there are questions about the data, patients and their advocates should speak directly to their health care provider for a better understanding.