2004 Year in Review: Children's at a Glance
Honors and Awards
Pioneering urologist and surgeon Dr. Michael Mitchell received the highest honor in his field, the 2004 Hugh Hampton Young Award from the American Urological Association.
Dr. Ben Danielson, medical director of Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, recently received the Charlie Garcia Distinguished Service Award from the University of Washington for his work to increase diversity within the medical profession.
Our new ambulatory care building, due in spring 2006, will bring together more than 40 clinics and related diagnostic services.
Patti Varley, ARNP, received the Nursing Excellence Award from the Association of Advance Practice Psychiatric Nurses.
The March of Dimes named infant intensive care nurse Deb Lester, RN, Western Washington Nurse of the Year.
Clinical educator Lyn Sapp, CRRN, received a Shining Star Award from the King County Nurses Association.
Our Infant and Pediatric Intensive Care Units received the Family-Centered Care Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine for innovations that improve the care provided to critically ill patients and their families.
Residents Parmi Suchdev and Ellie Click received the Anne E. Dyson Child Advocacy Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics for creating a resident-directed international health initiative that provides care and education to children in underserved regions of the world and advocates on their behalf.
Recent Highlights
The New York Times, U.S. News and World Report and several professional organizations hailed Children's as a national leader in the medical use of information technology for successfully implementing a computerized physician order entry system.
Children's created the nation's first pediatric bioethics center to help families make informed choices about research participation and the use of innovative treatments.
Pediatric neurologic surgeon Dr. Rich Ellenbogen was named chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Dr. Ross Hays and Michelle Frost, RN, of Children's Palliative Care Consulting Service, were chosen for a national faculty that trains health care professionals to provide compassionate, family-centered palliative care to children with life-threatening conditions.
Children's researchers whose work had national impact included:
- Dr. Dimitri Christakis, who found that TV viewing by children ages 1 - 3 is associated with attention problems by age 7
- Dr. James Taylor, who showed that echinacea does not shorten colds
- Dr. Janet Englund, who concluded that giving babies their initial two doses of flu vaccine up to six months apart is as effective as giving both doses within the same month
- Dr. James Stout, who found that removing allergens and tobacco smoke in the home could reduce asthma symptoms
Notes of Interest
New Physicians
Children's welcomed world-class leaders to key positions:
- Dr. Robert Boucek, division chief of Cardiology and co-director of Children's Heart Center
- James Hendricks, PhD, vice president of Research
- Transplant surgeon Dr. Jorge Reyes and pediatric hepatologist Dr. Simon Horslen, who will enable Children's to add small bowel transplantation to our current transplant program
- Dr. Tony Woodward, division chief of Emergency Services
- Bone tumor surgeon and longtime Children's physician Dr. Ernest (Chappie) Conrad, department director of Orthopedics
- Dr. Bryan King, department director of Child Psychiatry
Facility Development
Our facilities continue to grow and improve. In 2004, we:
- Opened the state-of-the-art Janet Sinegal Patient Care Building and expanded our bed capacity to 250
- Added nearly 100,000 square feet of bench and clinical research space in downtown Seattle
- Increased capacity in our renovated Inpatient Psychiatry Unit to 20 beds
- Placed the final structural beam on the Ambulatory Care Building, which will bring together more than 40 specialty clinics and related diagnostic services when it is completed in 2006.
Philanthropy
Children's Foundation and Guild Association were once again listed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy 400, an annual listing of the nation's top 400 fundraising organizations.
Members of Children's 520-plus guilds raised more than $1.5 million to endow a chair in pediatric infectious disease.
Our Guild Association is the largest, most active volunteer association of any hospital in the nation.
Clinical Programs
Our new Complementary and Integrative Medicine program introduced acupuncture to treat a broad range of health issues. Other nontraditional therapies, such as yoga and biofeedback, will be introduced in the future.
Several programs were re-accredited with honors:
- Our cancer program and our Seattle Cancer Care Alliance partners received full approval with commendation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine called Children's Sleep Center a "model program" for its ability to contribute to the emerging field of pediatric sleep medicine
- The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission called our Rehabilitation Unit "the premier provider of rehabilitation services for children in its region"
Education
Under the direction of Dr. Daniel Rubens, Children's was one of five hospitals that helped develop SimBaby, the world's first infant simulator, which will help improve the education of medical personnel.
Did You Know?
- In 2004, we provided $34.6 million in uncompensated care; we expect to provide $37.3 million in 2005.
- About 60 percent of patients - more than 57,000 children last year - receive some sort of financial assistance from Children's.
- Patients are referred to Children's by more than 300 hospitals and clinics throughout Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
- Our funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research increased 50 percent over the last year.
- Children's received a Guiding Star Award from the King County Nurses Association for providing an outstanding workplace for registered nurses.