About me
Mahmoud Kheirbek, MD, is Chairman of the Neonatology/Pediatrics Department at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and is affiliated with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Dr. Kheirbek specializes in neonatology and is double board-certified in neonatal-perinatal medicine and pediatrics. He holds professional memberships with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the DC Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics. Throughout his career, Dr. Kheirbek has received several awards, including Nurses’ Choice for the 50th Anniversary of MedStar Washington Hospital Center Collaboration Award with Nursing Staff and Resident of the Year at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.
Dr. Kheirbek works with high-risk pregnancies and premature babies to provide state-of-the-art, comprehensive care to mothers and children. At MedStar Health, he and his department treat the largest number of premature and extreme premature babies in the district. He treats babies for a variety of diseases including respiratory distress syndrome, neonatal jaundice, neonatal sepsis, and issues around feeding and nutritional support. In addition, he specializes in stabilizing and caring for babies that are born with congenital heart disease.
In the future, Dr. Kheirbek is excited to continue developing programs that optimize the nutritional support of newborns. He hopes to bring in more mothers exclusively for breastfeeding and/or use donor breast milk. His department is also instituting CMV screening in babies that fail hearing tests. Additionally, they are in the implementation phase of an IVH prevention protocol in small babies. Dr. Kheirbek believes that fetal surgery for diseases such as spinal myelomeningocele and urologic problems is a promising trend that is showing improvements in outcomes nationwide.
Dr. Kheirbek first discovered his passion for newborns while obtaining his medical degree at Damascus University in Syria. He completed a residency at Children’s Hospital in Damascus prior to his residency at Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke’s. In 1990, he completed a fellowship program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and has been working there ever since.
Philosophy of care
“I love babies and treat every newborn that is in my care as if they were my own. My approach is to equip families with evidence-based information so that they are empowered to make the best decision for their child. When I meet with families, I take the time to educate them about their baby’s condition and all their possible treatment options. I am always honest and transparent about what can be done for the child; if I believe they would be better served in another location or facility, I will not hesitate to say so because my priority is the best interest of the baby. I know that every family is different, and their value system and personal wishes will always be taken into consideration when developing a treatment plan for their child.”
Clinical areas of focus
- Birth Asphyxia
- Body Cooling
- Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
- Diaphragmatic Hernia
- Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
- High Frequency Ventilation
- Inhaled Nitric Oxide
- Mechanical Ventilation
- Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis
- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
- Neonatal Bowel Obstruction
- Neonatal Jaundice
- Neonatal Sepsis
- Non Invasive Ventilation
- Omphalocele
- Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension Of The Newborn
- Premature Birth
- Respiratory Distress Syndrome
- Retinopathy Of Prematurity
- Therapeutic Hypothermia
- Umbilical Arterial Line Insertion
- Venous Line Insertion
Conditions and procedures
Conditions I treat
- Birth Asphyxia
- Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
- Diaphragmatic Hernia
- Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis
- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
- Neonatal Bowel Obstruction
- Neonatal Jaundice
- Neonatal Sepsis
- Omphalocele
- Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension Of The Newborn
- Premature Birth
- Respiratory Distress Syndrome
- Retinopathy Of Prematurity
Procedures I perform
- Body Cooling
- Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
- High Frequency Ventilation
- Inhaled Nitric Oxide
- Mechanical Ventilation
- Non Invasive Ventilation
- Therapeutic Hypothermia
- Umbilical Arterial Line Insertion
- Venous Line Insertion
Insurance
MedStar Health accepts most major health insurance plans. If you are uncertain as to whether your individual health insurance plan is accepted at MedStar Health, please call your insurance company.
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List of insurance plans we accept
- Aetna HMO
- Uniformed Services Family Health Plan (USFHP)
- United Golden Rule
- Cigna True Choice Medicare (PPO)
- United Community Plan - Maryland Health Choice Program
- Priority Partners - Maryland Health Choice
- Innovation Health: Open POS Plus
- Carefirst BlueChoice HMO
- Private Health Care Systems (PHCS) (PPO)
- Innovation Health: Open POS II
- Aetna Signature Administrator PPO/TPA
- Cigna Choice Fund PPO
- CareFirst Blue Card Program (Out-of-area BCBS plans)
- Cigna POS/Network POS
- Aetna Managed Choice (POS)
- United Core Essential (HMO)
- Aetna Choice POS & Choice POS II
- Kaiser HMO Plus and DHMO Plus Member
- United Group Medicare Advantage Plans
- I-SNP
- Amerigroup DC Healthy Families
- Health Services for Children with Special Needs (HSCSN)
- CareFirst NASCO
- Maryland Point of Service Plan (MPOS)
- Kaiser Select-Added Choice
- Innovation Health: HMO & EPO Plus
- Aetna Elect Choice/ Open Access (POS)
- Amerigroup DC Alliance
- CareFirst MedStar PPO
- Police and Fire Clinic
- United Choice Plus
- CareFirst BC/BS Advantage Core/Enhanced
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthcare Alliance
- Innovation Health: POS
- Innovation Health: Open Network Only Plus
- Aetna Student Health Insurance
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO Plans
- Aetna Managed Choice Open Access (POS)
- Innovation Health: POS Plus
- Kaiser Signature
- Veterans Affairs Community Care Network
- Cigna Network Open Access
- United Medicare Advantage DSNP District of Columbia
- Kaiser Maryland Medicaid MCO
- HumanaChoice Honor’s plan PPO
- Aetna Open HMO/Open HMO Option/Open EPO Plus
- HumanaChoice PPO
- AmeriHealth Caritas DC Healthcare Alliance
- United Navigate
- Carefirst Healthy Blue (HMO/POS)
- Federal Employee Program (Std/Basic PPO/Blue Focus)
- Tricare Reserve Select
- Carefirst EPO
- United GEHA (for all other states) Compass Rose
- Kaiser Flexible Choice
- Medicaid - Maryland
- Cigna TotalCare (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna HMO-Open Access/Select OA
- UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange Plans
- Carefirst BlueChoice Opt Out Open Access
- United Student Resources
- Choice Care Network/HUMANA (PPO)
- United Nursing Home Plan (C-SNP
- HealthyBlue PPO
- Carefirst BlueChoice Opt Out Plus Open Access (POS)
- Cigna POS Open Access & Open Access Plus
- Medicaid - District of Columbia
- Cigna Achieve Medicare (HMO C-SNP)
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthy Families
- Kaiser Select
- CareFirst Group Medicare Advantage
- Innovation Health: Network Only Plus
- AmeriHealth Caritas DC Healthy Families
- Carefirst Blue Preferred PPO
- United Mamsi Life & Health
- Innovation Health: Indemnity
- Cigna Indemnity
- United Erickson Advantage Plans
- Tricare East Select
- Veterans Affairs Community Care Network (VA CCN)
- Cigna HMO Open Access
- CareFirst Administrators
- D-SNP)
- United Optimum Choice Preferred (POS) & OCI Direct (HMO)
- United MD IPA Preferred (POS)
- WellPoint Maryland
- Cigna Preferred Medicare
- Cigna PPO and PPO Plus
- Cigna EPO
- Aetna HealthFund/Health Network Option OA
- Kaiser Permanente Signature-Added Choice
- United Select HMO - EPO/NPP
- Kaiser Medicare Advantage Signature and Select
- Cigna Alliance Medicare (HMO) |
- Aetna Traditional Choice (PPO)
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (POS)
- Tricare for Life East
- CareFirst Group Medicare Advantage prescription drug benefit (PPO)
- Virginia Premier
- Kaiser Medicare Plus
- CareFirst MedStar Select PPO
- WellPoint Maryland - Maryland Health Choice
- Innovation Health: PPO
- Aetna Select HMO/HealthFund/Health Network
- United Select Plus (POS)
- CareFirst (NCA) Indemnity
- United Choice
- Aetna Elect Choice/ EPO (Aetna Health Fund)
- Tricare East Prime
- United AARP Medicare Complete
- CareFirst Maryland Indemnity or PPO
- Traditional Medicare Fee for Service
- United Optimum Choice
- Cigna HMO & Network (HMO)
- Medicaid - Virginia
- Carefirst BlueChoice Open Access
- United MD IPA (HMO)
- Aetna Open Choice (PPO)
- Cigna True Choice Plus Medicare (PPO)
- United Options (PPO) (includes Empire PPO)
- Coventry Health Care National Network PPO
- MedStar Family Choice - Maryland Health Choice
- First Health PPO
- Coventry of Delaware HMO/PPO
- Coventry Health Care of Virginia
- Great-West Healthcare POS/CIGNA
Education
Board Certification: American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatrics
Board Certification: American Board of Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Fellowship: Georgetown University Hospital (1990)
Residency: Rush University Medical Center (1988)
Medical School: University of Damascus School of Medicine (1979)