Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Achieves Highest Level of Surgical Verification

This distinction by the American College of Surgeons Children’s Surgery Verification Program makes the hospital one of only three Level I children’s surgery centers in all of California.

For release: January 26, 2022

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, the center of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, has been verified as a Level I children’s surgery center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Children’s Surgery Verification Program—the highest designation a hospital can receive.

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford has a long history of excellence in delivering top-quality care to the most complex patients, a strong culture of safety, recognition for diversity and inclusion, application of core and advanced technologies to their clinical and business programs, and overriding drive for continuous improvement from leadership to staff. The hospital’s operating rooms handle approximately 10,000 cases each year.

“This recognition is so meaningful because it’s our dedicated pediatric and maternal specialists, surgeons, and care teams who are focused on the needs of children and neonates,” says Dennis Lund, MD, chief medical officer of Stanford Children’s Health. “Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford is known for its innovative and unparalleled family-centered care that is designed specifically for children and expectant moms. It’s this recognition of a level of precision and expertise not often found in adult-centric health care enterprises.”

Pediatric patients have different needs from adults, and their surgical care demands specialized resources and specialist physicians, nurses, therapists, and other care providers. This verification from ACS demonstrates that Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford not only possess those resources, but also is committed to the highest level of care for all children when they need it the most.

Patients and families can walk into a Level I children’s surgery center knowing that it:

• Has leadership and comprehensive care from specialty-trained surgeons for all aspects of the surgical needs of newborns, children, and teens.
• Provides operating rooms designated for children that are available 24/7.
• Offers pediatric anesthesiologists and pediatric radiologists who provide care any time of day.
• Has a highly trained transport team that specializes in critical care transports for neonatal and pediatric patients.
• Trains pediatric residents and health leaders in education and research.

A team of ACS surveyors, consisting of experienced pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, reviewed the hospital’s structure, processes, and clinical outcomes data during a virtual site visit and noted the collaborative relationships between hospital management and clinicians.

“At Stanford Children’s Health, we have a strong commitment to improvement, and that happens by fostering a culture of open dialogue and transparency,” says Jesus Cepero, PhD, RN, chief nursing officer of Stanford Children’s Health. “We’ve seen this lead to meaningful change initiatives to make sure our patients are getting the absolute best care.”

Some of the strengths that reviewers noted were the many opportunities for faculty to engage in research, as well as educational support for nurses and other care team members to encourage advancement in their field. The organization also provides support through contributions to awards, pilot grants, and mentorship for junior faculty members.

Media Contact

Katie Chen
Stanford Children’s Health Media/PR Manager
media@stanfordchildrens.org
(650) 465-4872