Children's Hospital of Wisconsin rated No. 3 in the nation by Parents magazine

MILWAUKEE (2009) - In its February 2009 issue, Parents rated Children's Hospital of Wisconsin third in the nation in its Best Children's Hospitals survey. In addition, Children's Hospital earned top-10 ratings in five specialty areas: emergency medicine No. 2, neonatology No. 5, pulmonary medicine No. 7, heart care No. 9 and cancer care No. 10.

The biennial Parents survey is particularly important among national rating programs because it is the only magazine survey driven by quality of care and outcomes data. More than 15 million people nationwide read Parents and its hospital survey.

Highly skilled staff makes the difference
The key difference at Children's Hospital is the expertise of its staff. The hospital scored higher in this area than any other hospital in the survey. Even in light of national shortages of pediatric specialists, the hospital's commitment to attract and keep highly skilled care providers for its patients remains uncompromised.

The magazine cited Children's Hospital's impressively strict requirements for certification. For example, all doctors must obtain board certification in Pediatrics, and all intensive care nurses must be certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support. All neonatal intensive care, cardiac intensive care, radiology and transport nurses also have this certification.

Placing highly experienced staff in key roles is another way the hospital enhances care. Only nurses who have worked in the emergency department for two years are allowed to do triage, the magazine noted. Many other hospitals require just six months of experience.

Research advances care
The magazine also took note of achievements in research. Parents paid particular attention to a discovery made by scientists at Children's Research Institute: a genetic fingerprint that signals the potential for type 1 diabetes. Children's Hospital of Wisconsin has one of the nation's largest pediatric diabetes programs. The interface among doctors, nurses, scientists and a critical mass of patients helps speed research toward new treatments, prevention and cure.

Diabetes is far from the only area of research focus. In recent years, Children's Research Institute has secured funding and made significant investments in hematology, infectious disease, oncology, nutrition, neuroscience and cardiac research, to name a few.

Emergency medicine rated No. 2
In Children's Hospital's Emergency Department/Trauma Center, patient satisfaction stands out from other hospitals. The average wait time from arrival to triage was just 13 minutes in 2007. Children's Hospital is a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center capable of providing the highest level of care for the most seriously injured children and teens.

Neonatology rated No. 5
Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is classified by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a Level 3C NICU capable of caring for infants with the most complex medical problems and those who need surgery within days or weeks of birth. Of the more than 1,300 infants cared for in 2006 and 2007, more than half were referred from greater than 60 miles away so that these infants could receive the needed level of care. The depth and breadth of specialization of staff is one reason ChildrenÍs Hospital's NICU stands out. In addition to neonatologists, the care team may include neonatal nurse practitioners, geneticists, eye and retina specialists, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and more.

Pulmonary care rated No. 7
The Pulmonary Medicine Program includes Wisconsin's only pediatric sleep center accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It is one of only 20 accredited centers in the country dedicated solely to children.

The Pulmonary Medicine Program also places special emphasis on cystic fibrosis care and research. The CF Foundation has accredited the program as a Center of Care, Teaching and Research. In both 2006 and 2007, the program was one of the top-rated centers in the United States for lung function for pediatric patients. In the same timeframe, Children's Hospital staff helped patients achieve body mass indexes higher than the national average, indicating better nutrition for patients.

Heart care rated No. 9
Herma Heart Center services are widely accessible to families, with six outreach locations for cardiology outpatient services and one outreach cardiothoracic surgery site throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Because of the strength of its outreach program, Herma Heart Center staff consulted on more than 23,000 cases in 2007.

Herma Heart Center, a longtime innovator in the repair and follow-up care of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, also is one of just 10 clinical research sites in the U.S. for the pediatric Berlin artificial heart. The program has achieved some of the lowest surgical mortality rates in the nation while performing some of the most complicated procedures such as complex surgeries on neonates and heart transplants.

Cancer care rated No. 10
Children's Hospital's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is one of the largest in the Midwest. Its Blood and Marrow Transplant Program is one of the most experienced, largest and most successful programs of its kind in the nation. Through innovation in transplants from alternative donors, the center is able to offer successful blood and marrow transplants to a greater number of patients who need them. Some of these alternatives include unrelated marrow donors, unrelated cord blood donors and half-matched parent donors.

Learn more

Read the story on Parents magazine's Web site at www.parentsmag.com.
Read Children's Hospital's press release.