Contact: Ellen Bank
843.792.2626
Jan. 7, 2003
MUSC Children's Hospital has been named the 11th best hospital in the nation by Child magazine in its second survey of children's hospitals.
The results of the survey of children's hospital will be published in the February issue of the magazine to be on the newsstands nationally January 14.
To be considered for the survey, a hospital had to be among the 100 full members of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. The field was narrowed to 54, based on each hospital's evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), an agency that visits each hospital and grades it on medication use, anesthesia care, infection control, and more.
All of the semi-finalists received a detailed, rigorous 72-question survey developed in conjunction with a team of advisors. The questionnaire covered survival rates, staff qualification, nurse-to-patient ratios and comforts such as child life specialists who use toys and games to ease a patient's fears. The inquiry was expanded to include safety issues such as avoidance of medical errors. In addition, specific data was provided on three key areas of the hospital - cardiology, neonatology and cancer services.
The MUSC Children's Hospital competed with more than 150 children's hospitals across the nation. Among the top 25 hospitals listed, the MUSC Children's Hospital and two centers in Florida are the only centers representing the Southeastern U.S. Last year MUSC Children's Hospital ranked 10th in the survey.
Information is available on http://www.child.com/kids/health_nutrition/top_hospitals03.jsp?page=1
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