Dr. Moo Cho is the new medical director of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition for Valley Medical Group, part of Valley Health System. The system announced the appointment on Oct. 26. Cho treats children from newborn to age 18 for digestive disorders, liver disease and nutritional concerns, and he sees patients in person at VMG – Pediatric Gastroenterology at 140 East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey.
For parents in northern New Jersey, the practical takeaway is twofold. First, there is a new point of access for specialized pediatric digestive care close to home. Second, Cho's stated approach is built around parents as partners — he describes parents as a child's strongest advocate and says families should be involved in treatment decisions as a team. That framing matters when a child's symptoms are vague, slow-moving, or easy to dismiss.
Digestive problems in children are not just a stomach issue, in Cho's view. He notes that they affect a child's growth and daily life across the board — school, social life, and family dynamics. That is why persistent symptoms deserve a real evaluation rather than a wait-and-see shrug. General nutrition questions have their own evidence base, but conditions like celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease need a specialist. This connects to our earlier piece, Probiotics: What They Can and Cannot Do, According to Research.
Who is Dr. Cho, and what does the role cover?
Cho provides clinical and administrative leadership for Valley's pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition services. In practice, his job is to advance clinical programs, improve access to specialized care, and strengthen coordination between inpatient and outpatient services. He is also developing Valley's collaborative relationship with the Mount Sinai Health System to expand resources available to patients and families.
His training path runs through the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, residencies in pediatrics and global health at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, and a pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at University of California – San Diego Rady Children's Hospital. Before Valley, he spent six years as a partner physician with Southern California Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center. His research interests are quality improvement and clinical development, and he performs both upper endoscopies — called esophagogastroduodenoscopy — and lower endoscopies, or colonoscopies.
Which conditions does the clinic treat?
According to Valley Health System, the conditions Cho treats include:
- Abdominal pain and gas
- Constipation
- Celiac disease
- Chronic diarrhea
- Eosinophilic esophagitis
- Failure to thrive and growth concerns
- Feeding difficulties
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Liver disease and abnormal liver tests
Some of these overlap with ordinary childhood complaints. Constipation and reflux are common, and a specialist referral is not the first step for every case. But the list also includes conditions — celiac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, inflammatory bowel disease — where diagnosis typically requires specific testing, and where Cho's endoscopy training becomes directly relevant.
What can parents actually do with this information?
The most actionable part of the announcement is Cho's own description of how he wants families to work with him. He says a collaborative approach is crucial: listening to patients and families, addressing their concerns, and involving them in treatment decisions together as a team. In his words, "Parents will always be their child's strongest advocate."
Translated into practice, that suggests three things parents can bring to any pediatric GI appointment, whether at Valley or elsewhere:
- A symptom record. Cho's point that digestive issues touch school, social life and family dynamics is a prompt to document those effects — missed school days, avoided meals, disrupted sleep — not just the symptom itself.
- Questions about the plan. Cho explicitly commits to explaining recommendations and shared decision-making. A family that does not understand a recommendation is meant to ask.
- Growth context. Because the clinic treats failure to thrive and growth concerns, a child's growth record is central information for this kind of visit.
For everyday context on the nutrition side, parents sorting food-related questions can start with explainers on dietary fiber or reading nutrition labels — while keeping in mind that a suspected medical condition calls for clinical evaluation, not self-diagnosis. Readers following this should also see Reading Nutrition Labels: What Hidden Ingredients and Serving Sizes Really Mean.
What does this mean for access to care?
Cho's stated priorities — expanding access to specialized pediatric gastroenterology services and strengthening the Mount Sinai partnership — are administrative goals, and it is too early to measure results. What is concrete now is the location and the scope: a pediatric GI clinic in Paramus treating newborns through 18-year-olds, with a director who also sees patients there himself. Families seeking more information about pediatric gastroenterology care at Valley can visit ValleyHealth.com/PediatricGI, per the ROI-NJ report.
The appointment is one staffing announcement, not a verdict on outcomes. But for parents navigating a child's unexplained digestive symptoms, knowing who leads the local service — and how that leader says he works with families — is a usable piece of information.
