1 in 4 moms cannot identify the Best Children’s Hospital in their community

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL, USA, October 3, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- When it comes to healthcare, children are different and need health care designed specifically to meet their needs. Today, in celebration of National Child Health Day, the Women’s Choice Award^®, America’s trusted referral source for the best in healthcare, honors some of the Best Children’s Hospitals for having met the highest standards for pediatric care.

Nothing is more vital to our country’s future than our children’s health and well-being. “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 and former publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. “The best children’s hospitals embrace families as an integral part of health care and improving children’s outcomes. It is our intent at the Women’s Choice Award to identify children’s hospitals that mothers and fathers can take their children to with the expectation that they will receive excellent and comprehensive care.”

Passi hopes that the award increases awareness that children’s hospitals are not only for the critically ill.

“We found in our studies that 75% percent of women associate children’s hospitals with care for seriously ill children and nearly 50% of women are unfamiliar with the full offerings of a children’s hospital,” said Passi. “Our research also revealed that 1 in 4 moms (25%) do not know which Children’s Hospital in their community is the best one.”

The Best Children’s Hospitals designation is based on a point system and self-reported data from children’s hospitals in the nation, which includes information on 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.

Children’s hospitals are specifically designed to take care of the child through a family-centered approach to medicine and serve kids at each stage of growth and development, requiring differently sized equipment and a range of expertise. As teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists to care for children.

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 12 different specialties), and have high levels of professional, nursing and support staff. Each of the 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.

The award criteria examine five different facility areas to determine which hospital is eligible for the Women's Choice Award. These areas are Pediatric Services, Technology and Family Resources, Board- Certified Staff, Nurses and Support Staff and the facility's Commitment to Quality. 0-5 points are assigned to each measure with the exception of NICU, which earns five points for a Level IV and two points for a Level 3. Points for hospital staffing were assigned based on the number of beds per board-certified pediatric professional, professional in the following specialties: Anesthesiology, Radiology, Orthopedics, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Urology, Neurology, Oncology and Neonatology. Points of 0 to 5 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.

Additionally, a children’s hospital can earn the Best Pediatric Emergency Care Award if they have a dedicated pediatric emergency department, a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and a high rating (4 or 5 on a 5-point scale) for their Emergency Department staffing.

“Our Best Children’s Hospitals award helps raise awareness of the top-quality care offered for all children—not only the critically ill—with specialists, services and technologies designed specifically to meet their unique needs,” said Passi.

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:

Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron, OH
Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago, IL
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Dayton Children’s Hospital, Dayton, OH
The Children's Hospital at Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ

For more information on the 2022 Best Children’s Hospitals visit https://womenschoiceaward.com/best-childrens

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ABOUT THE WOMEN’S CHOICE AWARD^®
The Women’s Choice Award for Best Hospitals™ is a trusted referral source and coveted credential that identifies the nation’s best hospitals based on robust criteria that includes relevant clinical performance, patient satisfaction and appropriate accreditations. The Best Hospitals demonstrate exceptional ratings, providing the highest level of care and commitment to their patients’ health and well-being. The Women's Choice Award is the only designation that takes into consideration the preferences of women when selecting a hospital. Visit http://www.womenschoiceaward.com/ to learn more.

Kathi Waldhof
Women's Choice Award
+1 954-922-0846
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