Visitation Policy Changes

What makes surgery at a pediatric hospital top-notch? According to the American College of Surgeons, it is a commitment to quality care, appropriately and highly trained staff, participation in cutting-edge research, and leadership from surgeons who review the services’ surgical outcomes throughout the year. That commitment extends to meeting every child’s individual surgical needs with a care environment that offers optimal pediatric resources.

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital personifies this commitment and was recently designated Level I Children’s Surgery Verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Children’s Surgery Verification (CSV) Program. That is ACS’s highest designation provided to a surgical center for its excellence in delivering care and continuous improvement to enhancing the structure, process and patient outcomes. As part of this designation, the hospital also participates in a national surgery registry where best practices are shared with other programs.

“Achieving Level I speaks to the caliber of the surgical team at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and attests to our capability for meeting the most complex surgical needs of our pediatric community,” said Jill Whitehouse, MD, vice-chief, Pediatric General Surgery, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “It also demonstrates our team’s passion for excellence and our dedication to safety and quality that extends to every patient we touch.”

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is one of only two in the state with Level I verification, and joins an elite list of 33 hospitals nationwide with this honor. The CSV program is based on other nationally recognized American College of Surgeons quality improvement programs that have measurably improved surgical quality and have prevented complications, reduced costs and saved lives. CSV standards ensure that children facing surgery receive care under a multidisciplinary program with quality improvement and safety processes, data collection, and appropriate resources provided to them as patients at the hospital.

“This is an amazing achievement from our surgical team, a well-deserved recognition for the hospital and a major benefit to our community,” said Caitlin Stella, CEO, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

The ACS CSV program was developed to improve the quality of children’s surgical care by creating a system that allows for a prospective match of every child’s individual surgical needs with a care environment that has optimal pediatric resources. Verified centers must meet criteria outlined in the standards document, Optimal Resources for Children’s Surgical Care 2015.

After submitting an application, centers seeking verification undergo an extensive site visit by an ACS team of surveyors. The surveyor teams consist of experienced children’s surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses who review the center's structure, process, and clinical outcomes data. The current Optimal Resources for Children’s Surgical Care manual drives the application and is used as a guideline in conducting the survey.

Once again, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has been named among the top 50 children’s hospitals in the nation for Orthopedics and Cardiology and Heart Surgery, in the 2021-22 Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is ranked #5 in Florida and as Florida’s Best Children’s Hospital for Orthopedics, based on patient outcomes, clinical capabilities and utilization of best practices for the care of children.

“It is an honor for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to be recognized among the top children’s hospitals in the nation, once again. We are thrilled,” said Caitlin Stella, MPH, chief executive officer, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and administrator for Pediatric Services, Memorial Healthcare System. “This has been an extraordinary year in so many ways and our achievements in Orthopedics and Cardiology and Heart Surgery are a true reflection of our team’s unwavering commitment to providing the safest and highest quality care for children. We continue to adapt and grow our services based on the needs of families and children in our community, and further our commitment to excellence in an environment that embraces patient- and family-centered care. When kids want to stay in the hospital, I would say that is a good review.”

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Orthopedic Center has the largest group of fellowship trained pediatric orthopedic surgeons in the state of Florida, and one of the most well regarded in the country, providing world class care and expertise for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions and sports-related injures affecting children, adolescents and young adults.

Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Pediatric Heart Institute is one of only three programs in Florida offering comprehensive heart care, including congenital heart disease and heart transplantation. Over the past decade, its cardiac transplant program has become one of the most active pediatric heart transplant programs in the state and offers services to children with serious heart conditions from fetal evaluations throughout childhood and into adulthood. The team’s expertise spans across multiple disciplines, including congenital heart care, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, critical care and mechanical circulatory support. Additionally, during the pandemic, the Heart Institute spearheaded a multi-disciplinary team to treat children experiencing MIS-C, an inflammatory illness associated with COVID-19.

“When choosing a hospital for a sick child, many parents want specialized expertise, convenience and caring medical professionals,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. “The Best Children's Hospitals rankings have always highlighted hospitals that excel in specialized care. As the pandemic continues to affect travel, finding high-quality care close to home has never been more important.”

U.S. News introduced the ‘Best Children’s Hospitals’ rankings in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. The ratings, according to the publication, are a comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals and rely on clinical data and on an annual survey of pediatric specialists.

The 2019-20 rankings started with 4,653 hospitals, which represent virtually all U.S. community inpatient facilities. The rankings methodology considers clinical outcomes, such as mortality and infection rates, efficiency and coordination of care delivery and compliance with best practices.

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation recently welcomed Aleksander “Sasha” Barkov back to the children’s hospital for a meet & greet with patients and the presentation of a check for the nonprofit’s “Catch the Love” fundraising campaign.

The Florida Panthers captain was on-site for the first time since COVID-19 guidelines restricted visitation and used the occasion to present a check for nearly $75,000 to Memorial Healthcare System leaders. The dollars are the result of Barkov’s ongoing philanthropic campaign (#BarkovScores4JoeD) for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and will be part of the capital campaign’s $56 million commitment to underwrite a significant portion of the $165 million cost to expand the pediatric facility. The four floors currently being added will enable the Hollywood-based facility to treat even more of the most complex and critical pediatric conditions.

Barkov’s season-long campaign for ‘Joe D.’ included $1,600 for each of the 27 goals he scored and $800 for each of the 38 he assisted on during the Panthers recently concluded hockey season. He also provided a suite at each Panthers home game for use by those connected to the hospital.

“It means a lot to contribute, more and more each day, especially when I see the photos of these kids at our games,” said Barkov, the 2020-21 winner of the NHL’s Selke Trophy. “I’m just trying to help in some kind of way and am proud to be a part of this great community.”

During the past two (COVID-shortened) hockey seasons, Barkov has contributed more than $105,000 to the children’s hospital’s nonprofit foundation. “We have a great relationship with Sasha as he continues to support everything we’re doing at the children’s hospital,” said Kevin Janser, Memorial Healthcare System vice president and chief development officer at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation.