Children's Hospital honored by CHILD
by Heather WoolwinePublic Relations
CHILD magazine’s December issue lists the MUSC Children’s Hospital as one of the top 25 in the U.S. This is the third consecutive Best Children’s Hospitals survey in which MUSC was included in the elite list.
The MUSC Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is named one of the country’s top 10.
“This survey has been done three times now, and MUSC has always been in the top 25,” said John Sanders, Children’s Hospital administrator. “It’s an amazing accomplishment and an enormous credit to the physicians and staff who work so hard here every day.”
The most recent survey brought the highest number of applicants ever, with 144 hospitals vying for distinction and only 90 of those invited to complete the survey.
The field narrowed based on a hospital’s evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
Semi-finalists received a 164-question survey developed by leaders in the pediatric field, and were asked to answer questions about survival rates for childhood cancers, heart surgeries, organ transplants, and premature births; staff qualifications; nurse-to-patient ratios; research funding and clinical trials; the availability of playrooms, lending libraries, and activities to help a child’s hospital experience seem less frightening; and family services like support groups and sleeping accommodations for parents.
“Being among the top 25 in the country reaffirms our confidence in what we’re doing here,” Sanders said. “We’ve been going through a transition where we are seeing more patients coming in for a broader spectrum of conditions, as opposed to being just the place to take the worst or hardest cases.”
Dilip Purohit, M.D., co-director of neonatology, agreed, “It s definitely a wonderful morale booster for the staff. We know we’re dedicated and that we’re always there, but to hear it from an independent agency reinforces what we already know.”
Emily
Heavener, R.N., NNICU, left photo, takes Asia Jenkins', temperature while
her mother, Shanina Jenkins observes. Asia's twin sister, Endia, was in
surgery undergoing the same procedure her sister also had done several
days before. The girls were born
prematurely but are now doing well as Jenkins
looks forward to a
possible release date for them near what would
have been her due date on Feb. 25. Right photo: Laura Calcutt, R.N.,
right, and Shonda Kirton give Isla Grace Kirton a once over while she sleeps
in her new bed in 8D, Infant Toddler Surgical Unit. For 11 weeks, Isla
traveled back and forth between the unit and the NNICU coinciding with
a major surgery to repair her espophogus. Isla is expected to be released
as soon as her appetite is regular.
Sanders felt that the NICU’s appearance on the Top 10 list of NICUs in the country had a lot to do with its unique features. “More than 50 percent of our NICU babies are born here,” he said. “So that enables us to care for babies that come from a much wider spectrum. We also have a higher volume than many other children’s hospitals and our outcomes are very good.”
“Our nursery services all of southeastern coastal South Carolina,” said David Annibale, M.D., co-director of neonatology. “Through outreach and transport programs we are able to transport babies here quickly and that is directly related to the successes that occur in the NICU.”
“Whatever they wanted NICUs to have, we have it,” Purohit said. “We are always improving. It's exciting to think what it will be like with a newer facility.”
Indeed, Sanders mentioned a plan to have a brand new NICU floor within the Children’s Hospital within five years.
“I think one of the reasons so many people pay attention to this survey is because it tries to ask the questions from the angle of a parent or a family as well,” he said. “It’s not just evaluating things that we as administrators or clinicians see as important.”
Sanders, Purohit, and Annibale all agree a commitment to interdisciplinary patient care makes the Children’s Hospital more than just a building or safe haven for children of all ages, that all of those dedicated to the care of children create successful outcomes by relying on each other’s expertise.
“This is a good way to remind us all that the things that we work on
together and do to improve the Children’s Hospital really do make a difference,
even though day to day we don’t always realize that,” Sanders said. “Everyone,
across the disciplines, deserves credit for this survey’s success and should
take a moment to realize the great care they provide.”
Friday, Jan. 21, 2005
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