Awards announced on Child Health Day to recognize excellence in pediatric care

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Women’s Choice Award®, America’s trusted referral source for the best in healthcare, announced today the 2018 Best Children’s Hospitals for 2018 in honor of Child Health Day.  The select group of 66 children’s hospitals represent those that have met the highest standards for childcare. This designation is based on a point system that includes information provided by more than 100 children’s hospitals in the nation, which included the following services and criteria:

• Family-Centered Care
• Family sleeping/living accommodations
• Dedicated pediatric emergency department
• Pediatric ICU
• Neonatal ICU
• Child Life specialists
• Use of telehealth technologies
• Participation in pediatric health research
• Accreditation by the Joint Commission
• Pediatric Trauma Center accreditation

First on the list, family-centered care is an increasingly important factor in pediatric outcomes.   Studies show that family-centered approaches—health care staff and family working together as partners—lead to better health outcomes and wiser allocation of resources as well as to greater patient and family satisfaction.  They have also demonstrated decreased length of stay, reduced medical errors, and improved staff satisfaction.

“Parents and families have an important role to play in caregiving and decision-making in their child’s care,” said Delia Passi, CEO and founder of the Women’s Choice Award.  “The best hospitals embrace families as an integral part of health care and improving children’s outcomes.”                                           

Passi hopes that the award increases awareness that children’s hospitals are not only for the critically ill.  “From our own surveys, we know that most women associate children’s hospitals with care for seriously ill children and nearly 50% are unfamiliar with the offerings of a children’s hospital,” said Passi.  “We want women to know that these hospitals offer specialists, services and technology designed to provide safe, effective care for the specialized needs of children across a broad spectrum of health issues.”

“We are proud that 38 of the children’s hospitals recognized by the Women’s Choice award are Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals are leaders in care and treatment in their communities and these hospitals rely on community donations to support their child-specific equipment, technology, research and life-saving treatments,” said John Lauck, President & CEO, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The following children’s hospitals have partnered with the Women’s Choice Award in empowering women and their families to make the best healthcare choices:

Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Dayton Children’s Hospital, Dayton, OH
Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center, Roseville, CA
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Miami, FL
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA
UC Davis Children’s Hospital, Sacramento, CA

For a complete listing of the 2018 Women’s Choice Award Best Children’s Hospitals, please visit http://www.womenschoiceaward.com/best-childrens-hospitals/.

Award Methodology

The Women’s Choice Award recognizes facilities that provide important pediatric services, maintain a low ratio of beds per Board Certified pediatric professional (for 11 different specialties), and have high levels of professional, nursing and support staff. Each of the almost 100 children’s hospitals that submitted self-reported data was carefully evaluated and awarded points for each desirable quality with only the highest-scoring earning the award.

For each of the criteria that a hospital met, they received five points to towards their score, with the exception of NICU, which earns five points for a Level IV and two points for a Level III. A maximum of 50 points could be earned for these services.

Points were also assigned to a hospital based on the number of beds per board certified pediatric professional in the following specialties: Anesthesiology, Radiology, Orthopedics, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Urology, Oncology and Neonatology. Points of 5, 3, 1, and 0 are assigned based on the relative number of beds per physician, with those having the least average beds, scoring the most points. Each of the results was also weighted based on the average beds per physician for all the reporting hospitals. Lastly, up to six additional points were provided for high levels of professional, nursing and support staff.

ABOUT THE WOMEN’S CHOICE AWARD®
The Women’s Choice Award® is a trusted referral source, empowering women to make smart healthcare choices by identifying the country’s best healthcare institutions based on robust criteria that consider female patient satisfaction and clinical excellence. The Women’s Choice Award was recently honored by the INC 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in 2017 for a third consecutive year. Visit http://www.womenschoiceaward.com/ to learn more. 

The information contained in this release is not permitted to be used in a non-press related context without the express prior written consent of the Women’s Choice Award.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Ruth Castillo
rcastillo@womenschoiceaward.com
954-922-0846