Visitation Policy Changes

Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital was named a Top Children’s Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. The South Florida based hospital has received this recognition three times in the last five years. Announced today, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. The Top Hospital designation is bestowed by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers recognized as the toughest standard-setters for health care safety and quality.

“Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has again been honored with the distinction of being one of only eight children’s hospitals in the country to earn the Leapfrog Top Hospital award,” said Caitlin Stella, chief executive officer, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “We proudly hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to caring for our patients and their families and this continued distinction validates our team’s outstanding work.”

Over 2,200 hospitals were considered for the award. A total of 149 top hospitals nationwide were selected as Top Hospitals, including only eight Top Children’s Hospitals. The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, surgery, maternity care, and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication and other errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology.

“We are pleased to recognize Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital as a Top Hospital this year,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Even with the continued strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to excellent health care in the South Florida community. We congratulate the board, leadership, staff and clinicians who put their patients first.”

To qualify for the Top Hospitals distinction, hospitals must rank top among peers on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which assesses hospital performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2021 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information, they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

As part of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Memorial Healthcare Systems has recently signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge. The healthcare system joins more than 2,000 organizations that are taking action to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

“Within Memorial Healthcare System, these values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of our culture,” said Aurelio M. Fernandez III, president and CEO, Memorial Healthcare System. “It is who we are, and we will continue our long-standing commitment to support initiatives that ensure equity for all.”

The CEO Pledge is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. By signing on to this commitment, CEOs are pledging to take action to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, where employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where best known—and unsuccessful—actions can be shared across organizations in an effort to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

With this promise, Memorial Healthcare System is pledging to:

• Cultivate environments that support open dialogue on complex – and often difficult – conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion
• Implement and expand unconscious bias education and training
• Share best-known diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives – as well as those that have been unsuccessful
• Engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies

CEO Action was founded on a shared belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion is a societal issue, not a competitive one, and that collaboration and bold action from the business community – especially CEOs – is vital to driving change at scale. Its goal is to advance the inclusion of all employees and help them feel supported in the workplace, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability status, veteran status, or other aspects of diversity.

In addition, Memorial also pledged to the American Hospital Association’s #123 for Equity Pledge to Act Campaign, which launched in July 2015 and is building upon the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. The pledge urges hospital and health system leaders to continue to develop and implement strategies to increase the collection and use of race, ethnicity, and language preference and sociodemographic data; advance cultural competency training; and increase diversity in leadership and governance. A fourth goal was added to improve and strengthen community partnerships.

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, one of the region's leading pediatric hospitals, today announced it has been named a 2021 Pinnacle of Excellence Award^® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in healthcare consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital as a top-performing healthcare organization in patient experience, showcasing exemplary levels of performance for a minimum of three consecutive years.

Joe DiMaggio is one of four pediatric hospitals recognized across the country in the categories for Outpatient Services and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems. These organizations represent the leading edge of pediatric family-centered care. Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital has always embraced a patient- and family-centered care approach to healthcare. Under this philosophy, patients, their families and healthcare professionals are true partners, working together to best meet the needs of the child.

“Our Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital family has showed unwavering commitment to raising the bar in patient experience even during a time of inconceivable circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Caitlin Stella, CEO of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “Receiving the Pinnacle of Excellence Award® for patient experience is truly an honor as our mission guides us to always put patients and their families at the heart of everything we do.”

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital offers a wide variety of programs to ensure that the healthcare system is continuing to live up to the mission. Families and patients benefit from services and programs including the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), Child Life, and KidCierge Services, Hospital Homebound School Program, Pet Therapy, and the in-house clown, Lotsy Dotsy.

“Press Ganey is honored to recognize Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital as one of the nation’s leaders in patient experience,” said Patrick T. Ryan, chairman and CEO, Press Ganey. “Despite an era of incredible challenges, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has demonstrated resilience, constantly pushing boundaries as healthcare consumerism continues to gain momentum, driving advancements in improved outcomes for all."

The Press Ganey Pinnacle of Excellence Award^® is a preeminent, competitive achievement for leading healthcare organizations. Presented annually, the award applauds hospitals and health systems that consistently sustained performance year-over-year.

About Press Ganey

Press Ganey pioneered the health care performance improvement movement 35 years ago. Today Press Ganey offers an integrated suite of solutions that enable enterprise transformation across the patient journey. Delivered through a cutting-edge digital platform built on a foundation of data security, Press Ganey solutions address safety, clinical excellence, patient experience, and workforce engagement. The company works with more than 41,000 health care facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality, and experience of care.