Visitation Policy Changes

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.

The Conine All-Star Golf Classic, an annual fundraiser for the Conine Clubhouse at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, is pleased to announce Custom Rod & Reel will remain its title sponsor for the next five years. The deal extends a philanthropic partnership between the South Florida-based company and the children’s hospital’s nonprofit foundation that began in 2012.

The celebrity golf event, which will tee off for the 28^th consecutive year in January, underwrites expenses at the clubhouse, a hotel-like facility where families can stay for free while their child is hospitalized.

“It’s not fair for any family to have to bring their child to the hospital, let alone stay for long periods of time. That family, any family, wants to stay as close to their child as possible, and that’s what the Conine All-Star Golf Classic funds go towards,” said Daniella Jordan, a representative of Custom Rod & Reel.

The Conine All-Star Golf Classic, hosted by former major league ballplayer Jeff Conine and his wife, Cindy, has raised more than $7 million to underwrite the facility’s operating expenses. More than 13,000 families have resided there, staying close to sick kids during critical times in their lives.

“This tournament has had an incredibly long run and we wouldn’t have been able to have the impact we do without Custom Rod & Reel,” said Jeff Conine. “They have been extremely generous with us and a difference-maker for the families we assist.”

The 2022 event will take place January 17 at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club and features a celebrity in each foursome.

To play in the tournament or to become a sponsor, contact Craig Cohen at 954-265-7241 or crcohen@mhs.net.

Visitors to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital often comment that it doesn’t feel like a traditional hospital. That’s due, in large part, to its power-of-play philosophy, an all-encompassing effort to make ‘Joe D.’ a warm and welcoming place for children and families.

Now, thanks to the generosity of the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation, positive experiences for patients will be taken to a new level, literally, as part of the four-story expansion of the hospital. The future eighth floor, currently under construction, will feature the nation’s newest Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Child Life Zone with therapeutic play, relaxation and interactive areas for children in the hospital. The space will become the 14th Child Life Zone that Teammates for Kids has created through partnerships with some of the country’s leading children’s hospitals.

“On behalf of our board, we want to say thanks to the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation for their support of the Child Life Zone at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Along with the amazing Child Life staff, their support will allow kids to do what they do best, BE KIDS!,” said Jason Grahame, president of Teammates for Kids.

The significant contribution made by the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation is part of “Catch the Love,” the capital campaign that will underwrite a substantial part of the estimated $170 million cost to expand the children’s hospital from four floors to eight. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation has already raised more than $40 million in the fundraising effort.

“One of our foundation’s major areas of focus has always been promoting the health and welfare of children around the world,” said Raul Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation. “Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has long been a safe and welcoming space for kids and families going through some of the hardest times of their lives. Words cannot express how proud I am to be supporting this incredible organization as it expands to help more children.”

In addition to the Child Life Zone, the expanded Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital will add new state-of-the-art patient rooms, cardiac hybrid operating rooms, additional surgical and interventional radiology suites, new intensive care and cardiac intensive care units, and an intraoperative MRI. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.