Quality and Outcomes Reports - Ear, Nose and Throat

Clinic Volume - Overall

Why we measure it - Research shows that physicians and hospitals that treat a large number of patients tend to provide better care and have improved outcomes for treatments and procedures.

What this means - Overall more patients and families are choosing our care. Our outreach clinics (Greenway Clinic and New Berlin Clinic) reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our hospital location. The New Berlin Clinic opened in 2009.

About the data - This graph reflects the number of visits captured in our registration system in years 2007-2010.

Related dimensions of care:

What we're doing to provide the best care:

  • The ENT team consists of fellowship-trained pediatric ENT surgeons, general ENT doctors, a fellowship-trained voice specialist, a fellowship-trained facial plastic surgeon and fellowship-trained neurologists. The team also includes nurse practitioners, and a group of highly trained audiologists, speech pathologists and nurses. All of our ENT specialists are board certified in Otolaryngology.
  • Our specialists see patients at two other locations in Milwaukee (Greenway Clinic and New Berlin Clinic) to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our hospital location.
  • We provide a nurse call line so parents can reach a nurse or doctor quickly with any questions or concerns. Parents can call (414) 266-7514 during clinic hours (9 am - 5 pm weekdays) and a nurse will call back within two hours. After hours or on weekends and holidays, parents can call (414) 805-3666 and ask for the ENT doctor on call.
  • Families traveling from long distances are encouraged to use our Family Accommodations Program to make travel arrangements and coordinate appointments. Children's Hospital has partnered with non-profit organizations like Ronald McDonald House and Kathy's House to offer comfortable, "home away from home" accommodations. Local hotel chains on our referral list also offer discounts for patient families. 
  • We are using a process improvement initiative in the surgery area to enhance efficiencies and allow health care providers to focus on quality interactions with their patients.
  • We perform many outpatient procedures at our Surgicenter location near the Milwaukee hospital, approximately 10 minutes from Children's Hospital. Here, patients may be scheduled sooner and enjoy the convenience of a smaller facility, while being cared for by the same pediatric ENT surgeons and pediatric anesthesiologists they would see at the hospital.
  • To improve our clinic flow and patients' experience, we had parent focus groups help redesign our waiting room and teaching room in the ENT Clinic. We also are improving our teaching materials and working to reduce wait times and improve our patient satisfaction scores. 
  • To improve patient flow and case management in the ENT Clinic, we are a part of many specialty clinics including: Aerodigestive Clinic, Audiology, Audiology Processing Disorders, Cochlear Implant Clinic; Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic; Saliva Control, Speech, Tracheostomy/Ventilator Clinic, Vascular Malformations Clinic, Fiberoptic Evaluation of Swallow and Sensory Testing Clinic, and Voice Clinic.
  • We help train future pediatric specialists by having sleep medicine fellows and pediatric and family medicine residents spend time in our clinic and shadow our otolaryngologists.
  • We work closely with the Pain Management team to reduce the pain that often comes with surgery. We also work with parents to make sure they give the full dose of pain medication for as long as it is recommended to keep their child as comfortable as possible after surgery.

Patients and families:

  • Make sure you receive the surgery information packet we mail out to families before your child has surgery and follow all the instructions.
  • If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please call Central Scheduling at (877) 607-5280 or (414) 607-5280 as soon as possible to reschedule so another child can be seen.
  • Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can gather needed information from you before you see the doctor.
  • Check with your insurance provider before your visit to see if a referral is needed to see a specialist at Children's Hospital.
  • Bring the name, address, phone and fax numbers of your primary care and/or referring doctor so we can update them appropriately on your care.
  • Bring a full list of the medications your child is taking including over-the-counter medicines such as vitamins and supplements.

Referring physicians:

  • Referring physicians can access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day. Call our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.  
  • Health care providers from outside of our southeastern Wisconsin service area are encouraged to use our web-based 
    e-Consult service. This service is available for non-urgent patient cases only and gives providers access to our specialists to review patient cases, obtain medical advice or second opinions, and receive care recommendations for rare symptoms and illnesses.
    e-Consult is not to be used by the general public, parents/guardians or families.
  • Care guidelines for medical professionals
  • Educational materials
  • Pocket Directory

If you have questions about this information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.