U.S. News & World Report again named Seattle Children’s among the nation’s best children’s hospitals in 2021, out of nearly 200 pediatric hospitals evaluated. Seattle Children’s is the top-ranked pediatric hospital in Washington and the Pacific Northwest, and among the top three pediatric hospitals in the Pacific region, which includes California, Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon and Washington. For more than a decade, Seattle Children’s has been nationally ranked in every area, and for 2021, 3 specialties are in the top 10 of the 10 specialties that are ranked:
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Seattle Children’s is pleased to announce an exciting future collaboration with Bozeman Health to expand locally available pediatric specialty medicine and behavioral health services in Southwest Montana.
The pediatric specialties we plan to collaborate on include cardiology, general surgery, oncology, orthopedics, psychiatry and behavioral medicine and other wellness services. Seattle Children’s providers will live in Montana and see patients at Bozeman Health’s Deaconess Hospital.
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Letter to Seattle Children’s workforce and community from Susan Betcher, Chair of the Hospital Board of Trustees and Jeff Sperring, MD, Chief Executive Officer, regarding Covington & Burling’s Assessment of Seattle Children’s Efforts to Combat Racism and Promote Systemwide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We want to communicate directly to our workforce, patients and families, the community, and other stakeholders – that the independent assessment of Seattle Children’s efforts to combat racism and promote diversity, equity and inclusion led by Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder of the Covington law firm is complete. The Board has unanimously adopted their recommendations as set forth in their summary.
Moving forward, we will act with an unwavering commitment to deliver equitable treatment of pediatric care and pursue equitable treatment across Seattle Children’s workforce while promoting anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion for all. Where our past actions have not lived up to our aspirations and values, we are resolved to not only do better but lead the way. This is an enormous task, but one we fully embrace. Read full post »
Seattle Children’s is experiencing high inpatient and Emergency Department (ED) volumes and staffing shortages in some areas. Likewise, hospital occupancy across Washington state has been extremely high for weeks. Many hospitals are reporting occupancies over 100%, significant ED boarding of inpatients, and delays in transferring patients to higher levels of care. A forecasted increase in admissions for COVID-19 for the next several weeks will add to the strain.
To fulfill our mission of caring for as many children within our institution as possible, we are actively preparing our ED and intensive care units for surges, including the possibility of young adult patients transferred from other hospitals.
Call to Action: Please manage patients in outpatient settings whenever possible to help reduce visits to Seattle Children’s ED and hospital admissions.
Seattle Children’s is excited to introduce the Cerebral Palsy Program, a new offering for children with cerebral palsy and their families. We have a multidisciplinary team that offers the right services at the right time, including not just medical treatment but the education and support families need to be their child’s best advocate.
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have long been seen by providers at Seattle Children’s, but the new program expands the services we can provide. Our dedicated staff of specialists, surgeons, therapists, social workers, nurses and administrators will work as a single, coordinated team to offer high-quality, standards-based care tailored to each patient’s unique needs, with access to the equipment and therapies that can help children live their healthiest life possible. Read full post »
Dr. Mignon Loh – New Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Division Chief and BTCCCR Center Director
Message from Dr. Leslie Walker-Harding, chair, University of Washington School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics; senior vice president and chief academic officer, Seattle Children’s
I am thrilled to announce that on Dec. 1 Dr. Mignon Loh will join the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics as division chief of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy. In this role, she will provide clinical leadership at Seattle Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and research leadership as center director of the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research (BTCCCR) at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Loh will also serve as professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine, as well as head of the Section of Pediatric Oncology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch). Read full post »
Dismantling overpolicing and systems that may result in overpolicing of people of color at Seattle Children’s is critical to protecting the health and safety and minimizing trauma for Black, Indigenous and People of Color patients, families and communities. It’s one of the five pillars of our Anti-Racism Organizational Change and Accelerated EDI Plan.
Following the work in April 2021 of a multidisciplinary group that examined how Seattle Children’s engages with law enforcement, a policy has been created to guide workforce members on how and when to appropriately engage law enforcement at Seattle Children’s. Over the coming months, our related policies will be updated and our teams will receive training.
The official Seattle Children’s App is now available in English and Spanish. The app, created by Seattle Children’s, helps families quickly connect to MyChart, find and contact services to support their child and family, access our interpreter services, and use turn-by-turn directions to navigate the hospital.
Families can download the app today from the Apple App or Google Play stores.
When referring your patients to Seattle Children’s, please share this information by giving them our family flyer about the new app (Spanish version).
Since January of this year, following concerns of systemic racism within our organization, we have accelerated our ongoing work to be an anti-racist organization and uphold our core value of equity. Though we’d made a formal commitment to anti-racism last summer, and subsequently launched our Anti-Racism Organizational Change and Accelerated Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan last fall, we recognize we must do more – and in greater collaboration.
The key to our transformation – and to the path ahead – lies in taking actions based on conversations and insights from our many stakeholders. We approach the gravity of this transformation and the opportunity to improve with humility in knowing we have not done enough – and our shortcomings have adversely impacted the kids and families we serve as well as our team. Upholding our commitment to anti-racism must be and will be the very fabric of Seattle Children’s future. Read full post »
