Because Kids Count!

Front: David Kinsaul, president and CEO; Charles Foley, chair, board of trustees; back: Natalie King-Albert, chair, Foundation Board. Jeffrey Christian, MD, chair of the professional staff

At Dayton Children’s, kids count—they are at the center of every decision we make. Offering the highest level of pediatric health care close to home is always our number one priority. And because kids count on us, we count on our employees, physicians, volunteers, friends of Dayton Children’s and the community to ensure we are here for all children when they need us.

This year, we saw how passionate our employees, physicians, board members, volunteers and community leaders were about making sure kids count. During a tough budget year at state and national levels, all these groups did their part to ensure children’s voices were heard in Columbus and Washington, DC. More than 1,400 employees pledged to be Champions for Dayton Children’s—to do what’s right for kids at the hospital and in the community, to actively share our stories at every opportunity and to stay informed about issues affecting Dayton Children’s and the kids and families we serve.

Departments and teams developed processes to be more efficient and effective with our available resources. This hard work resulted in record levels of productivity in the face of growing volumes. Along with achieving our highest levels of parent satisfaction to date, the Dayton Children’s team also made sure that the 2011 fiscal year was one of the best ever. We are proud to see how everyone associated with Dayton Children’s rallied together to do the right things for the patients and families we serve.

Because kids count, we have embarked on an ambitious statewide safety collaborative—Ohio Children’s Hospitals Solutions for Patient Safety (OCHSPS). One of the most exciting parts of this initiative is that the eight children’s hospitals in Ohio will be sharing their safety data so that children throughout the state get the safest care possible. Our safety record is excellent —and yet we continue to look for new ways to improve. So we are excited about this statewide focus on putting children at the center of care and raising the bar for safety efforts in every children’s hospital throughout the state.

In addition to our safety accomplishments, our focus on quality and service excellence ensured Dayton Children’s remains nationally ranked at or near the top for favorable clinical outcomes. This ranking compares us to children’s hospitals around the country. Parents and families continue to rate many of our services and staff higher than the other health care facilities. This year we saw record-breaking parent satisfaction scores in several key areas including the Soin Pediatric Trauma and Emergency Center, specialty clinics, medical imaging and cardiology. The care and services at Dayton Children’s Urgent Care – Springboro, always rated highly by parents and families, remained at these strong levels.

Putting the finishing touches on the Soin Pediatric Trauma and Emergency Center was a gratifying accomplishment, and especially important when the team in our emergency department and trauma center cared for a record 69,689 children this year. In this annual report, you will hear a Vandalia family describe a frightening Memorial Day horseback ride and their experiences with the trauma team at Dayton Children’s.

One of our greatest assets is the team of pediatric specialists caring for our patients. Our multidisciplinary care teams ensure children with complex medical conditions have quick access to the right pediatric experts. Ryleigh is one child who benefited from a number of Dayton Children’s specialists this year after developing a staph infection. Her story is also included in this annual report.

The coming year brings more opportunities to strengthen and focus our efforts for the well being of the region’s children. These include:

A bold competitive access plan approved by our board this year is a significant investment in specialty physician hiring that will reduce wait times for new physician appointments in critical specialty areas.
Our 2011 pediatric health assessment told us that parents are concerned about childhood obesity, preventable illnesses such as colds and flu, and accidental injuries. Access to quality health care was also cited as a challenge for many families with inadequate insurance. As the area’s only pediatric hospital, Dayton Children’s has the pediatric experts, services and resources to help parents address these concerns.
Dayton Children’s is unwavering in its decision to remain a freestanding children’s hospital as we have been for nearly 45 years. This is the best way to ensure the highest level of pediatric health care services are available close to home for the region’s children.
As health care reform and its provisions take shape, as funding for Medicaid is debated at state and national levels, Dayton Children’s remains a strong voice in the conversation to protect our children’s right to quality pediatric care close to home.

Yes, challenges remain. But when you believe that all kids count and when you put their health and safety needs at the center of every decision, the path is clear. We are grateful to have the support of our employees, physicians, board of trustees, Foundation Board, Women’s Board, TWIGs, The Little Exchange and our many friends and supporters in the community as we take that path, we know we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you all.

Return to this year's annual report.