Texas Children’s Receives Two Top Honors

Texas Children’s Hospital has been acknowledged by two prestigious health care recognition programs - Child magazine and the Magnet Recognition Program.

Child ranked Texas Children’s No. 4 among the nation’s pediatric hospitals and No. 3 in neonatology and heart specialties. The hospital ranked No. 1 in pediatrics in the South and Southwest.

“Being named among the nation’s top five children’s hospitals is an outstanding achievement and demonstrates Texas Children’s leadership in pediatric health care,” said Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s. “Every member of the Texas Children’s team contributes to building a healthy community of children and should be proud of this accomplishment.”

In addition, the hospital’s nursing staff received one of the nation’s highest nursing honors – a coveted Magnet designation. Magnet recognition is given to hospitals that demonstrate ongoing excellence in nursing leadership, management and care delivery.

“The achievement of Magnet designation means that Texas Children’s is among the elite hospitals that are considered ‘magnets,’ – attracting a reputation that is among the best in the nation,” said Susie Distefano, senior vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer at Texas Children’s.

To be considered for the Child ranking, competing hospitals were required to be members of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions; had to be nonspecialty, meaning they practice pediatric medicine in more than one area; and had to score 93 percent or above on the most recent survey conducted by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.

Based on those criteria, 54 hospitals across the nation received the survey. Child magazine graded each hospital’s survey, which asked questions about survival rates for common childhood cancers and heart disorders, quality of medical staff, as well as the amount of government funding a hospital receives.

“Our profile and ranking in Child magazine is a great honor and reflects the dedication of our physicians and staff,” said Ralph D. Feigin, M.D., physician in chief at Texas Children’s and president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine. “This high ranking is a testimony to our mission to support excellence in patient care, education and research.”

The hospital’s other honor – the Magnet Recognition Program – brings national attention to hospitals with nursing staffs that demonstrate sustained excellence in nursing leadership, management and care delivery. The prestigious program is administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the largest nursing accrediting and credentialing organization in the United States.

Texas Children’s is one of only three freestanding pediatric hospitals in the nation to receive Magnet designation. Only 1 percent of hospitals in the nation receive this distinction. In the Texas Medical Center, three other hospitals have earned Magnet status – St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and The Methodist Hospital.

The Magnet Recognition Program was developed in 1994 to recognize hospitals that provide the best nursing care and support professional nursing practice. The program provides a forum for nursing systems across the nation to communicate about successful practices and strategies.

Magnet Recognition is based on quality indicators and standards of nursing practice as defined in the Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators, a publication of the American Nurses Association. Both qualitative and quantitative areas of nursing service are measured.

“By recognizing quality patient care and nursing excellence, Magnet Recognition provides consumers with a benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive,” Distefano said. “Hospitals applying for Magnet status must show that the nursing service consistently provides the highest standards of care. Excellence in patient care is our highest goal at Texas Children’s.”

With 1.8 million patient encounters last year, Texas Children’s provides medical care in more than 40 pediatric subspecialties and is the primary pediatric teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine. Texas Children’s and Baylor partner in approximately 400 research projects annually and receive $52.8 million in funding - one of the largest commitments to pediatric research in the country.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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