The Value of Children's

Patients and Families

Patients and Families

The pediatric difference at Children's

We realize that the cost of health care is rising, and we’re working to help families get the best care for their kids without sacrificing the quality and safety of the care we deliver. Children’s staff is working on more than 200 hospital-wide projects are saving our patients and families time and money every day. Making care affordable for families is important, but what is more crucial is our dedication to delivering unsurpassed quality in everything we do. That’s why we’re working to cut costs by improving care in new ways every day.

The Top 10 Reasons You Should Choose Children's

When your child is sick, you want the best care you can get. Children’s Hospital Boston is the only hospital in Massachusetts focused solely on the care and treatment of kids. When your child needs medical help, you want it to come from pediatric experts. Choose the pediatric difference, choose Children’s.

1

Recognized for excellence

In their annual report of best pediatric hospitals in 2011, U.S.News & World Report ranked Children’s Hospital Boston #1 in more categories than any other pediatric hospital in the world. We have also been awarded Magnet Status for excellence in nursing, were given the Beacon Award for Excellence in Critical Care and are on the Leapfrog Group of Top Children’s Hospitals. So whether your child has a complex heart condition or the common cold, you can be sure that we’ll treat them with unmatched care and expertise.

2

Children aren’t just small adults

Kids’ bodies are different than those of adults, so their care should be different too. They need more nurses and support services, equipment in a variety of sizes, medicine and radiation adjusted to the needs of the individual child and much more. This means that your child will get customized care that’s just right.

3

Experience breeds confidence

Children’s cares only for kids, so we see things every day that other hospitals never see, and we treat  more of the things that affect children every day, all the time.

4

We bring the best care closer to your home

Our satellite locations in Waltham, Peabody and Lexington bring our world-class doctors, nurses and support staff to more convenient settings, and often at lower prices. And our Martha Eliot Health Center brings care to thousands of families in Jamaica Plain and surrounding communities.

5

We get kids with asthma back to school and their parents back to work

Asthma is the number one reason for referral to Children’s, but our Community Asthma Initiative (CAI) is working hard to change that. Through home visits, education and public awareness, and public policy advocacy, the CAI has reduced admissions to the hospital by 850.000000e+0mergency room visits by 65issed school days by 40d parents’ missed work days by 47

6

We know that sometimes, not using medication is the best medicine

Using headphones and futuristic video goggles (so kids can watch movies), Children’s Try Without Sedation program helps wiggly kids stay still for MRIs, which means they don’t need medicine to keep still. In addition to the benefits to the child and family, the program lowers the cost of an MRI by approximately $1,750.

7

We get care out of the hospital and into the home

Our Home Hydration program helps children undergoing chemotherapy stay in the comfort of their own homes, and our Home Ventilation project helps children with ventilator dependency get treatment in their homes, too.

8

We give the right dose to each child

Most medications are not made for or tested on children, so they need to be reformulated by Children’s experts who know how to tailor each dose of medicine to the exact size of the specific child. Similarly, using our Image Gently methods, our radiologists customize for each child the amount of radiation needed to get the right X-ray, CT scan or nuclear medicine scan while minimizing exposure.

9

Our experts keep a close eye on kids in surgery

Children are 10 times more likely to have complications from anesthesia than adults. A full staff of experienced pediatric anesthesiologists who care for children of all sizes, from the tiniest premature newborns to teens, is crucial for reducing those complications.

10

We’re taking on childhood obesity

Childhood obesity is one of the country’s leading health concerns and it’s disproportionately affecting children in the inner city. Our Obesity Prevention Center recently received a $7 million grant from the New Balance Foundation; our Fitness in the City supports 11 community health centers providing more than 700 children in the Boston area with services and education surrounding healthy diet and lifestyle habits.

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Asthma Initiative

The CAI came together to offer a more proactive, enhanced model of care for children from Boston neighborhoods with high asthma rates and levels of health disparity. [ read more ]

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Over the last two years, Children's has reduced operating expenses, created innovative programs to lower costs while maintaing top quality care, and returned more than $90 million to insurers. [ read more ]

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