• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Named Number One Pediatric Hospital in the U.S. By Child Magazine

Posted on: Thursday, 4 January 2007, 00:00 CST

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is named the nation's best pediatric hospital by Child magazine. This is Children's Hospital's fourth consecutive number one ranking.

In addition to the overall ranking, Child magazine also ranked Children's Hospital's pulmonology, neonatology, oncology and orthopaedics divisions number one in the nation and the cardiac center and emergency medicine ranked second.

"Children's Hospital employees work tirelessly everyday to ensure every family has the ideal patient experience and we are truly grateful to our dedicated and talented staff," said Steven M. Altschuler, M.D., president and chief executive officer of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We recognize our responsibility to provide excellent patient care, to conduct innovative research and to train tomorrow's pediatric specialists; our ultimate goal is to eradicate pediatric disease worldwide."

The Child magazine ranking is the result of a comprehensive data-based study of children's hospitals across the United States, and it is based on hard data rather than subjective opinions. The comprehensive 247-question survey, guided by leading pediatric experts, examined vital medical information including survival rates, the number of complex procedures and intricate surgeries, volume of research studies, efforts to reduce medical errors, and the quality and training of the doctors and nurses - as well as child-friendliness, support for families, and community involvement. The survey was sent to 116 full members of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions; 76 hospitals completed the survey. The responses were graded to determine the best hospitals overall and the leaders in six pediatric subspecialty areas.

"We are honored to recognize The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as the nation's leading pediatric hospital for the fourth consecutive time," said Miriam Arond, editor-in-chief of Child magazine. "Children's Hospital's consistent pursuit of the best practices for children's health and well-being, the family-friendly environment and the caliber of their research efforts and clinical programs are examples of the best in healthcare today."

Facts about the six ranked divisions: Cardiac Center

The Cardiac Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the world's largest and most experienced programs, with more than 21,800 outpatient visits and 2,000 admissions, more than 1,000 surgeries, 1,000 catheterizations and 53,000 diagnostic studies each year; patients are referred to the Center from across the nation and around the world. The program's high volumes of complex cases, along with the dedicated team of 500 professionals, correlate directly with its consistently exceptional record of outcomes. The Cardiac Center provides comprehensive services across the full continuum of care, from diagnosing a fetus with congenital heart disease to caring for them through adulthood.

Thanks to advances in care, many pioneered at CHOP, the first generation of children with previously fatal congenital heart disease are surviving - and thriving - into adulthood. In 2005, the Cardiac Center created the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center, in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Uniting the resources of a renowned pediatric heart program with a national leader in adult cardiac care, the Center offers comprehensive care to meet the unique needs of this rapidly growing population. The Fetal Heart Program, one of only a few and the largest - of its kind in the U.S., attracting referrals from across the nation, had performed more than 2,500 fetal heart studies this year.

Emergency Medicine

The CHOP Emergency Department (ED) provides safe and efficient, family- centered, high quality care to more than 75,000 critically ill or injured children each year. The ED is a 75-bed, state of the art facility; each patient room is private, designed for families' comfort and equipped with TVs and VCRs for education or entertainment. No patient is ever treated in a hallway and patients are never diverted. The ED has been designed to safeguard patients in the event of a bio-terrorism attack; it is equipped with three decontamination quarters to allow the team to care for whole families or critically ill children.

Emergency Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is multi- faceted and includes not just the care provided by the Emergency Department, but the life-saving interventions of the Poison Control Center, Trauma Team and Medical Transport Team. The ED team's commitment extends beyond delivery of care to injury prevention efforts and advocacy for all children.

Neonatology Division

The Newborn/Infant Center (N/IC) at Children's Hospital continues to make significant advances in the field of neonatal medicine and the care of the most fragile infants. To meet rapidly growing demand, the N/IC facility is expanding to a 75-bed unit, equipped with the latest technology and advances in neonatal medicine to care for neonates with all types of diseases. Our team's clinical expertise has been recognized by regional providers, as Children's Hospital now operates NICUs at seven community hospitals. The N/IC has 51 board-certified faculty who are leaders in the field, clinically and in research. Patient volume at the main campus has grown to nearly 1,000 admissions; over 25 percent of neonatal admissions come from beyond the Philadelphia metropolitan region. Children's Hospital is nationally recognized as leader in the repair of congenital anomalies during the neonatal period.

The Neonatal Follow-Up Program monitors the physical and cognitive development of high-risk premature patients well into their childhood years, providing information, education and support for families. This program links with other clinics, provides referrals for early intervention and includes a program to promote early literacy.

Oncology Division

The mission of the Oncology Program at Children's Hospital is to provide the most skilled, compassionate care available. State-of-the-art facilities enable us to focus on the needs of both children and their families. The Oncology Program offers comprehensive, family-centered care with more than 40 pediatric oncologists with expertise spanning every form of childhood cancer, enabling us to provide more breadth and depth than any other pediatric cancer program in the country. Each year, we treat more than 500 new patients and follow more than 4,000 patients previously treated for childhood cancer.

In addition to the diagnosis, treatment and management of children with cancer, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia supports cancers survivors. The Cancer Survivorship Program cares for and tracks long-term survivors of childhood cancer, and conducts research to understand how cancer treatment can affect a patient many years later, making recommendations about how to mitigate harmful side effects.

Orthopaedic Division

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in pediatric orthopaedic patient care, education, and basic and clinical research; in fact, CHOP physicians have pioneered 15 orthopedic surgical procedures and are internationally renowned for their skill in limb-sparing surgery, tumors, spines, hand, sports and trauma. The orthopaedic team provides a full-range of services from caring for children with common conditions such as sports injuries to those with the most complex musculoskeletal disorders such as cerebral palsy and bone tumors. Each year, the team provides more than 62,000 outpatient visits in our orthopaedic and musculoskeletal programs, receives over 1,300 admissions and performs nearly 2,200 surgical cases. In addition to Main Campus, outpatient care is available at four Specialty Care Centers and surgical procedures are offered at three Ambulatory Surgery Centers throughout the region. We have a broad referral network, with 16 percent of surgical cases coming from outside the Philadelphia region. The orthopaedics team has also expanded programs in neuromuscular, spine and cerebral palsy and established a world-class hand surgery program and are one of a handful of institutions that treat children with complex spine and chest wall deformities.

With orthopaedics at its core, Children's Hospital's unique Musculoskeletal Center, believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation, brings together a multidisciplinary team representing 10 pediatric subspecialties to provide seamless and comprehensive care for infants, children and young adults with congenital or acquired musculoskeletal conditions. This Center treats nearly 24,000 outpatients with the most complex musculoskeletal conditions such as limb deformities, spina bifida, and scoliosis.

Pulmonology Division

The Division of Pulmonology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is internationally known for being at the forefront of patient care and research into causes and treatments for the entire range of diseases affecting the lung, chest wall and control of respiration in children. These disorders include asthma, cystic fibrosis, sleep disorders, congenital lung disorders and chronic respiratory failure requiring home mechanical ventilation or other forms of technology. The Division has extensive expertise in managing complex end-stage lung diseases and in lung transplantation. The team believes in a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that utilizes the talents of many healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, nutritionists, respiratory therapists and physical therapists. These professionals work together to educate families and patients about their disorders, which in turn allows the team to partner with patients to achieve the best possible outcomes.

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu/.

Contact: Joey Marie McCool Phone: (267) 426-6070 McCool@email.chop.edu

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

CONTACT: Joey Marie McCool of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,+1-267-426-6070, or McCool@email.chop.edu

Web site: http://www.chop.edu/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/159681.html

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category