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Awards & Recognition

Rady Children’s Achieves Its Best-Ever Rankings in Survey of Nation’s Top Children’s Hospitals (2023-24)

For the first time in its history, Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego has been named by U.S. News & World Report to its 2023-2024 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll, a distinction awarded to only 10 children’s hospitals nationwide. Rady Children’s had five specialties rank among the top 10 in the nation (Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery #3; Orthopedics #6; Neonatology #7; Neurology & Neurosurgery #8; Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders #8) and maintained its seven-year streak of achieving rankings in all 10 specialties surveyed. Only 23 hospitals nationwide were ranked in all 10 specialties. Learn more.

Rady Children’s Influential Leaders Recognized in San Diego Business Journal

Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Assets Trust Ernest Rady; Rady Children’s President & Chief Executive Officer Patrick Frias, MD; and Rady Children’s Senior Vice President & Chief External Affairs Officer Stephen Jennings were named to San Diego Business Journal’s SD500 Most Influential Business Leaders.

Rady Children’s Named 2022 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired

Rady Children’s once again been named a CHIME Digital Health Most Wired organization. The survey and recognition program serves as a “Digital Health Check-Up” for health care organizations across the world. This year, the Hospital earned “Acute-Level 8” and “Ambulatory-Level 9” designations, a level up in both categories from 2021As success in digital health increasingly determines the quality of patient care, the survey reflects the progress of leading health care providers as they reinvent health care for a new century. Learn more.

President and CEO Patrick Frias, M.D., Honored with Transformative CEO Award

Patrick Frias, M.D., Rady Children’s president & CEO, received The CEO Forum Group’s Transformative CEO Award for Top 10 Cultures in the category of Children’s Hospitals. This honor is bestowed for achieving a mission-first, people-always culture including powerful initiatives like cross-training.  Learn more.

Researchers Receive $3.14 Million NIH Grant for Better Imaging During Pediatric Heart Procedures

Engineers and physicians from Rady Children’s and UC San Diego have received a $3.14 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to help make MRIs a viable option for imaging during heart procedures in children. The team includes Dr. Howaida El-Said, Francisco Contijoch, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, and Dr. Sanjeet HegdeLearn more.

Dr. Ajayi First Black Woman to Serve As Medical Society President

Pediatric palliative medicine physician Toluwalase ‘Lase’ Ajayi, M.D., was named the 152nd president of the San Diego County Medical Society. This honor makes Dr. Ajayi the 9th female president and the first Black woman to serve in this role. A top priority will be working with the medical community to address the impact of systemic racism and bias on the most vulnerable and least served patients. She has also promised to prioritize physician wellness.

President and CEO Patrick Frias, M.D., Named CEO of the Year

Rady Children’s President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Frias, M.D., was among the community leaders awarded San Diego Business Journal’s 2022 CEO of the Year. Patrick often says, “Mission First. People Always.” And that is his true north when making any important decision. He considers the mission first – in our Hospital’s case, taking care of the kids – while remembering that it is the people who carry out that mission and determine the success of the organization. Patrick has helped guide Rady Children’s through the highs and lows of the past several years, and we are grateful for his unwavering support of our mission and staff.

Rady Children’s PICU Receives AACN Gold Designation (2022)

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has once again awarded our PICU the GOLD-level designation of the Beacon Award for Excellence! Only four PICUs in California and 12 nationwide have this designation. The Beacon Award for Excellence is a testament to a team’s commitment to providing safe, patient-centered and evidence-based care to patients and families. Creating healthy and supportive work environments empowers nurses and other team members to make their optimal contribution.

 

Murrieta Facility Honored

The Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce honored Rady Children’s Murrieta facility with the 2021 Board of Directors’ Spirit Award at its 43rd Annual Awards Gala. Cheryl Fuchigami-Bost, RN, SHRM-CP, CMPE, business development director of Rady Children’s Physician Management Services, accepted this award on Rady Children’s behalf.

James Uli Wins CFO of the Year Award

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer James Uli was awarded San Diego Business Journal’s 2022 Chief Financial Officer of the Year in the Nonprofit Organization category. Uli joined the Hospital in early 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. During turbulent economic times, he has demonstrated incredible perseverance and resiliency in maintaining the organization’s financial stability. The Hospital did not close any programs, lay off employees or delay a major campus expansion project. Instead, Uli looked thoughtfully at strategic resource allocation over the next 10 years, carefully considering how the Hospital could achieve post-pandemic longevity. Learn more.

Nicholas Holmes Awarded Top 2022 COO

Rady Children’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Holmes, M.D., M.B.A., was selected among Alumni Spotlight’s Top 100 Chief Operating Officers of 2022. Dr. Holmes joinedthe Hospital in 2007 as the chief of pediatric urology. Previously, he was a vice president and medical director of surgery at Children’s Specialist of San Diego. Earlier in his career, he worked with Naval Medical Center-San Diego as a chairman of the department of urology. Holmes earned his M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and his medical degree from Georgetown University’s School of Medicine. Learn more

Gail Knight, Nicholas Holmes Honored as Black Leaders of Influence

Rady Children’s Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Gail Knight, M.D., M.M.M., and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Holmes, M.D., M.B.A. were both selected among San Diego Business Journal’s 2022 Black Leaders of Influence Top 50. Dr. Knight was the first Black woman named the organization’s chief of staff and clinical director for the Division of Neonatology. In nearly 28 years of working in health care, she has cared for newborns, providing critical care at San Diego’s only Level 4 neonatal intensive care unit. Dr. Holmes has been senior vice president and chief operating officer at Rady Children’s since October 2014. In 2017, he was among the first cohort of physicians to become board certified in administrative medicine by the American Board of Physician Specialties. Learn more.

Rady Children’s Recognized as “Great Place to Work”

Thanks to our Rady Children’s family, Rady Children’s Hospital has earned Great Place to Work® Certification™. This is a badge of honor that validates the employee experience and the great workplace culture we’ve built. To be an employer of choice, it’s important that we are always improving to attract and retain top talent. We are so proud of our amazing team!

Albert Oriol Wins CIO of the Year Award

Albert Oriol, vice president and chief information officer at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, is the 2021 SoCal CIO of the Year ORBIE Award Winner inthe Nonprofit/Public Sector Category. The CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards is the premier technology executive recognition program of its kind. Since its inception in 1998, over 800 CIOs have been honored as finalists and over 200 CIO of the Year winners have received the prestigious ORBIE Award. The ORBIE signifies exceptional leadership, innovation and vision, representing the characteristics and qualities that inspire others to achieve their potential. Winners are selected through a rigorous peer review process, led by prior ORBIE recipients.

Rady Children’s Earns Magnet Designation Once Again

The Commission on Magnet® has unanimously designated Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego with Magnet recognition for the second time. Back in August, Rady Children’s virtually hosted appraisers from the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program®, as part of continuing our recognition of nursing excellence first earned in 2017. Mary Fagan, Rady Children’s vice president, patient services and chief nursing officer, noted the redesignation was a testament to the continued dedication and passion that our nurses first showed during the recognition four years ago.

Rady Children’s Hospital Voted Best Hospital in San Diego 

Rady Children’s has been voted as the Best Hospital in San Diego for 2021 by the San Diego Reader. Each year, the Reader holds voting for their “Best of” awards, where top businesses spanning all industries are chosen by San Diego residents There are over 1 million visits to the voting platform.

Rady Children’s Named 2021 Digital Health “Most Wired”

Rady Children’s has earned 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition as a certified level 7 acute hospital by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively health care organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities.

Rady Children’s Named Among World’s Best Specialized Hospitals

Rady Children’s has been recognized as one of the World’s Best Specialized Hospitals of 2022 by Newsweek magazine. Newsweek partnered with global research firm Statista and invited more than 40,000 medical experts—including doctors, hospital managers and health care professionals—to participate in online surveys that allowed them to recommend and assess various hospitals within their respective specializations. The results of the survey were then validated by a global board of renowned medical experts. Rady Children’s was ranked in the pediatric specialty. Learn more.

Hospital Honored for Emergency Care

Rady Children’s is among 33 hospitals nationwide to receive the ENA Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association. The award recognizes emergency departments that demonstrate excellent practice and innovative performance through leadership, education, advocacy and research. This year’s recipients were recognized for many accomplishments, including efforts to improve patient mortality from severe sepsis and septic shock; better clinical outcomes and quality of life for stroke patients; and developing efficiencies for the triage process during high patient volume times.

Dr. Cannavino Honored with Distinguished Teaching Award

Congratulations to Chris Cannavino, M.D., on receiving the 2021 Barbara and Paul Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award, which is given to up to five members of the Academic Senate, three non-Senate faculty members and three graduate students at UC San Diego each year. The UC San Diego Committee on Distinguished Teaching seeks to select award recipients who exhibit creativity, innovative teaching methods and the ability to motivate students, and who actively seek out knowledge and demonstrate an extraordinary level of teaching commitment.

Hospital Earns National Asthma Award

To mark Asthma Awareness Month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego and the Central California Asthma Collaborative’s Asthma Impact Model Program with the 2021 National Environmental Leadership in Asthma Management Award. The award recognizes the organizations for their leadership in promoting environmental asthma management as part of comprehensive asthma care in the communities they serve. Learn more.

Dr. Carvalho Named President-Elect of Ear, Nose and Throat Society

Daniela Carvalho, M.D., M.M.M,, medical director of Surgical Services and director of the Hearing Program, has been selected as 2022 president-elect of the Society of Ear, Nose and Throat Advancement in Children. SENTAC is a collective group of like-minded health care professionals involved in the care of children with otolaryngology, hearing, speech and swallowing disorders. The society’s primary mission is to provide and share an educational platform to allow collaboration, build community, establish consensus, promote diversity and explore new treatment ideas among its members. Dr. Carvalho has been an active member of SENTAC for over 15 years.

Dr. Tremoulet Receives Excellence in Mentoring Award

Adriana Tremoulet, M.D., M.A.S., was among the recipients of UC San Diego’s 2020 Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Awards, which recognizes faculty for their outstanding contributions to inclusive mentoring of junior faculty and future leaders in academic medicine. “As a native Spanish speaker and someone with exceptional organizational and leadership qualities, Dr. Tremoulet was able to create a multicenter collaborative network across Latin America. At every opportunity, she brought junior colleagues on board and mentored them in the intricacies of multinational collaboration. Dr. Tremoulet has helped launch the career of dozens of Latin American scholars.” To honor the awardees, UC San Diego’s Office of Faculty Affairs plants fruit-bearing trees at Roger’s Urban Farmlab on UC San Diego’s main campus.

Dr. Knight Appointed to COVID-19 Advisory Group

Gail Knight, M.D., M.M.M., senior vice president and chief medical officer at Rady Children’s, has been appointed to a three-member clinical advisory group of the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency for COVID-19 vaccination. The panel, which also includes Ankita Kadakia, MD, medical director of Public Health Services for the County, and Rodney Hood, MD, founder and chief executive of San Diego’s Multicultural Health Foundation, will weigh in on whether local dose allocations reach the most disadvantaged segments of the community.

Dr. Jones Earns Distinguished Scientist Award

Marilyn Jones, M.D., clinical services chief of the Division of Genetics and Dysmorphology, was named the recipient of the 2020 David Bixler Distinguished Scientist in Craniofacial Research Award, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the Society for Craniofacial Genetics and Developmental Biology. The award recognizes long-term distinguished leadership and meritorious contributions to the craniofacial sciences by a senior career scientist and SCGDB member. Dr. Jones is a also a distinguished professor of clinical pediatrics and the Benard L. Maas Chair in Inherited Metabolic Disease at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Dr. Gleeson Awarded NIH Grant for Spina Bifida Research

Joseph Gleeson, M.D., director of neuroscience research at Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine and Rady professor of neuroscience at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and his colleagues received a five-year, $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to further illuminate the causes of spina bifida, the most common structural defect of the central nervous system. The new grant will be used to set up an international registry of patients with spina bifida and fund new studies investigating how folic acid (vitamin B9) reduces disease risk. Additionally, Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine and UC San Diego physicians and scientists, in cooperation with the Spina Bifida Association, Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals and spina bifida clinics throughout the world will apply whole-genome sequencing to identify potential causes and underlying mechanisms of the disease.

Dr. Bradley Honored with Distinguished Physician Award

John Bradley, M.D., medical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and distinguished professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, received the 2020 Distinguished Physician Award from the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society. The annual award recognizes a pediatrician who has an extensive and distinguished career in pediatric infectious diseases marked by significant accomplishments and contributions in infectious diseases, including those as a clinician, educator and/or investigator. Dr. Bradley has improved the treatment of children nationally and globally by advancing the testing and approval of anti-infective agents for children, designing and leading numerous studies of these drugs, and developing guidelines for their use through his service on committees, working groups, and task forces. Learn more.

Dr. Sawyer Named to State’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Panel

Mark Sawyer, M.D., of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was named by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, an independent body that will scrutinize clinical trial results and risk assessments associated with any vaccine approved for release by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is among 11 experts throughout the state of California selected for this task. Dr. Sawyer has served on the infectious diseases committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the FDA’s vaccines and related biological products advisory committee and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the main body that makes vaccination recommendations to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rady Children’s Named 2020 Digital Health“Most Wired”

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has named Rady Children’s Hospital among its 2020 Digital Health Most Wired recipients. Health care organizations that receive this designation not only adopt technology but apply it strategically to achieve great outcomes. In this year’s survey, every participant was certified at a level ranging from 1-10 that represents their respective achievements, allowing organizations to clearly benchmark against a defined worldwide industry standard. Rady Children’s achieved Digital Health Certified Acute level 8. Learn more.

Dr. Mubarak Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Scott Mubarak, M.D., received the 2020 Nicolas Andry Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. The award recognizes Dr. Mubarak and Alan Hargens, Ph.D, director of the Orthopaedic Clinical Physiology Lab at UC San Diego, for their research on pressure measurement using the wick catheter, which has important clinical applications in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic compartment syndromes. This research has spawned a huge body of work (over 100 scientific articles) on human studies of tissue pressures in trauma, muscle exercise and space exploration, and has helped save many patients’ limbs with compartment syndromes from muscle and nerve necrosis over the past 40 years. Dr. Mubarak has donated the prize money from this award to Rady Children’s.

Mary Fagan Appointed to State Nursing Board

Mary Fagan, Ph.D., R.N., NEA-BC, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer, has been appointed by Governor Newsom to the Board of Registered Nursing. The BRN is a state governmental agency established by law to protect the public by regulating the practice of registered nurses. It is responsible for implementation and enforcement of the Nursing Practice Act, the body of laws related to nursing education, licensure, practice and discipline. The Nursing Practice Act created a nine-member board that serves as the BRN decision-making body.

Survey Ranks Rady Children’s Among Nation’s Top 10 in Neonatology, Orthopedics (2021-22)

Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego achieved rankings in all 10 specialties surveyed by U.S. News & World Report, and our Neonatology program was ranked as No. 4 in the country and our Orthopedics program as No. 7. The 14th annual Best Children’s Hospital rankings recognize the 50 leading pediatric facilities across the U.S. in 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery, and urology. Rady Children’s also improved or maintained its rankings in eight of the 10 specialties surveyed when compared to last year’s results. Learn more.

Dr. Bickler Honored with Humanitarian Award

Stephen Bickler, M.D., received the 2020 American Pediatric Surgical Association Humanitarian Award, which recognizes a member whose career has been committed to ensuring that surgical care is provided to underserved children without expectation of commensurate reimbursement.  This award is intended for surgeons who have dedicated a significant portion of their surgical careers to humanitarian efforts either locally or globally; examples include a career dedicated to missionary surgery, the founding and ongoing operations of a charitable organization dedicated to providing surgical care to the underserved, or a retirement characterized by surgical volunteer outreach.

Hospital, Dr. Zage Receive Pediatric Cancer Research Grant

Rady Children’s and hematologist/oncologist Peter Zage, M.D., Ph.D., received a $300,000 Scholar Hope Grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels. The grant will fund Dr. Zage’s research on neuroblastoma, a cancer that is commonly found in the adrenal glands. Rady Children’s is honored to be the recipient of Hope on Wheels research grants year after year.

Hospital Honored by Chamber of Commerce

Rady Children’s has been named the 2019 Large Business of the Year by the Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce. We have cared for patients in this region for the past two decades and partner with Rancho Springs Medical Center to provide neonatal and emergency care. In 2018, we opened the Murrieta Medical Plaza, expanding our pediatric services to provide a wide range of specialty clinics and offer primary care.

Rady Children’s Ranked in All 10 Specialties — Again! (2019-20)

Rady Children’s is proud once again to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals in all 10 specialties surveyed. The 13th annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings recognize the top 50 pediatric facilities across the U.S. in cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery, and urology. This is the eighth time since 2011 that we have been ranked in all 10 specialties. Learn more

Hospital Receives Six PRC Awards

National health care research leader Professional Research Consultants recently honored Rady Children’s with six awards for patient experience excellence. PRC awarded Rady Children’s Inpatient Services with its highest honor, the Award of Distinction for Excellent Performance. Additionally, PRC recognized the Hematology/Oncology Care Unit with a Top Performer Award and HomeCare, the Neurosurgery Outpatient Clinic, Outpatient Surgical Services and the Rancho Springs NICU with 5-Star Awards for scoring in the top 10 percent of health care facilities nationwide. Congratulations to all of these dedicated teams!

PICU Garners Gold-Level Beacon Award

Rady Children’s pediatric intensive care unit received a 2019 gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Only three PICUs in California and 12 across the United States earned gold-level accolades. The three-year award acknowledges “caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes.” In showing their PICU pride, team members wore gold hats and capes in a celebration for the award winners.

Rady Children’s Named 2019 HealthCare’s “Most Wired”

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has named Rady Children’s Hospital among its 2019 HealthCare’s Most Wired recipients. Health care organizations that receive this designation not only adopt technology but apply it strategically to achieve great outcomes. In this year’s survey, every participant was certified at a level ranging from 1-10 that represents their respective achievements, allowing organizations to clearly benchmark against a defined worldwide industry standard. Rady Children’s achieved Digital Health Certified Acute level 8. Learn more.

Dr. Bradley Earns Top Academic Title

John Bradley, M.D., an internationally renowned infectious disease specialist, has received a promotion to Distinguished Professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine, the highest rank conferred on the university’s faculty. For over three decades, Dr. Bradley served as chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rady Children’s and more recently held this role in the Department of Pediatrics of UC San Diego. He continues to serve as the division’s medical director and divides his time between clinical care, clinical research and national policy.

Hospital, Opioid Task Force Garner CMS Award

Rady Children’s Hospital and its Prescription Drug Abuse (Opioid) Task Force have received the Quality Improvement and Innovation Group Challenge Coin Award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). A major goal of Rady Children’s is to decrease overall Hospital opioid use while maintaining effective pain control. Over a two-year period, an institution-wide quality improvement initiative reduced the number of ambulatory pediatric opioid prescriptions by about one-third and ambulatory doses prescribed by over 50 percent. Learn about our Pain Management program.

Genomics Institute Physician-Scientists Discover New Gene Mutation

Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine physician-scientists have discovered a new gene mutation responsible for a devastating brain disorder in children. Drs. Jennifer Friedman and Joseph Gleeson (pictured right) led the international effort and performed genetic testing on blood samples. The findings pave the way for the first step in developing potential therapies for the rare neurodegenerative condition. Learn more.

Heart Transplant Center Earns CCS Approval

Rady Children’s Hospital received approval as a California Children’s Services (CCS) Program-approved Heart Transplant Center and has qualified as a Center of Excellence for meeting strict quality outcomes criteria and for its “ongoing commitment in providing the highest quality care to children.” CCS is a state program for children with certain diseases or health problems for children up to 21 years old.

Hospital, Top Executives Honored by Black Chamber of Commerce

(Photo L to R): William Jones, Lifetime Leadership Award Namesake; Dr. Steven Jones, President & CEO, CSDBCC; Donald Kearns, M.D., M.M.M., President & CEO, Rady Children’s Hospital; Bruce Mayberry, Board Chair, CSDBCC; Gail Knight, M.D., M.M.M., CMO, Rady Children’s Hospital; Nicholas Holmes, M.D., M.B.A., COO, Rady Children’s Hospital; Herbert Kimmons, M.D., M.M.M., President RCSSD, SVP, Rady Children’s Hospital

Rady Children’s Hospital and three senior executives were honored at the Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce (CSDBCC) 8th Annual Awards Gala, “Honoring African Americans in Healthcare.” Dr. Gail Knight, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nicholas Holmes, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Dr. Herbert Kimmons, Executive Director, Rady Children’s Specialists of San Diego (RCSSD), President, Children’s Specialists of San Diego, and UC San Diego Dean of Clinical Services received The William Jones Lifetime Leadership Award. Rady Children’s received the Medical Center of the Year Award for “taking diversity and inclusion to the next level through the placement of three African Americans on their executive team.”

Bernardy Center Earns Top Rating Once Again (2018-19)

For the 10th year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Rady Children’s Helen Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children as one of the nation’s best nursing homes, with highest possible overall rating of “High Performing.” To generate the ratings, U.S. News & World Report evaluated over 15,000 facilities across the country, and fewer than 20 percent of the facilities were awarded the top rating. Learn more.

Rady Children’s Named 2018 HealthCare’s “Most Wired”

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has named Rady Children’s Hospital among its 2018 HealthCare’s “Most Wired” recipients. Health care organizations that received this designation not only adopt technology but apply it strategically to achieve great outcomes. Learn more.

 

Dr. Yaszay and Team Win Best Clinical Research Paper Award

Dr. Yaszay (left) receiving the award

Dr. Burt Yaszay and a team of researchers (including Tracey Bastrom, M.A., Salil Upasani, M.D., and Peter Newton, M.D., from the Division of Orthopedics & Scoliosis) received the 2018 Russell A. Hibbs Best Clinical Research Paper Award from the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Yaszay was also the lead investigator on the paper that won best clinical poster. Learn more.

Dr. Newton Begins Role as Society President

Dr. Peter Newton is now the president of the Scoliosis Research Society, a group of 1,000+ world-leading physicians and allied health personnel committed to research and education in the field of spinal deformities. The international society aims to foster optimal care for all spinal deformity patients.

Rady Children’s Designated Safe Sleep Hospital

Rady Children’s has been designated a Bronze Safe Sleep Hospital by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. The program was created by the Cribs for Kids foundation and is endorsed by leading health and safety organizations. Hospitals that are certified demonstrate a commitment to making babies as safe as possible in their sleep environments and eliminating sleep-related deaths. Learn more.

Parent Liaison Receives Foundation Award

Congratulations to Gloria Newell, a parent liaison in the Peckham Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders, on receiving a 2018 Comunidad Award from the Padres Foundation. Gloria was recognized on the field during a San Diego Padres game, to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), for making a positive impact on the region’s Hispanic community. Part of the $2,500 award will go to the Peckham Center.

Dr. Ganesan (pictured right) and Hyundai Hope On Wheels staff at the check presentation

Dr. Ganesan Awarded Hyundai Research Grant

Hematology/oncology specialist Anusha Preethi Ganesan, M.D., Ph.D., has been honored with a $200,000 Hyundai Young Investigator Grant for pediatric cancer research. The award was presented on Sept. 7 at Rady Children’s. With this award, the Hospital has received more than $1.5 million in grants from Hyundai Hope On Wheels. Learn more.

Genomics Institute Honored for Collaborations

Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine received a RARE Champion of Hope Award from Global Genes®. Awards are given for rare disease advocacy, teen advocacy, science, medical care and treatment, and collaborations. The Institute garnered an award for “Collaborations in Science and Technology.” Learn more.

Hospital, Foundation Recognized for Transparency

Rady Children’s Hospital and Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation were recently recognized for transparency by GuideStar with a 2018 Gold Seal. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations. The Gold Seal appears on the Hospital and Foundation profiles on the GuideStar website.

Services Garner PRC Awards

Rady Children’s Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Rancho Springs (Team pictured right) received the 2018 Top Performer Award from Professional Research Consultants Inc. (PRC) for Overall Quality of Care, recognizing our unit as the highest-scoring NICU in PRC’s database. Learn more. PRC also awarded Rady Children’s Outpatient Surgical Services, Inpatient Hematology/Oncology Care Unit, Inpatient Surgical Care Unit and Outpatient Surgical Services with five star excellence awards, and overall Inpatient Services with a four star excellence award.

Rady Children’s ranks 10 for 10, again! (2018-19)

Once again, Rady Children’s Hospital ranked in all 10 specialties surveyed by U.S. News & World Report in its Best Children’s Hospitals rankings for 2018-19. This is the seventh time since 2011 that Rady Children’s has ranked in all 10 specialties. Learn more.

PICU honored with Beacon Award

Rady Children’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) has been honored with a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The three-year award signifies an effective and systematic approach to policies, procedures and processes that include engagement of staff and key stakeholders, fact-based evaluation strategies for continuous process improvement and performance measures that meet or exceed relevant benchmarks.  Only three PICUs in California and 12 across the United States received gold-level accolades.

Dr. Bradley Receives Esteemed Award

Infectious disease specialist John Bradley, M.D., (pictured on the left with Dr. Irvin “Buzz” Kaufman) received the 2018 Inaugural Irvin B. Kaufman Lecturer Award for contributions to his field at the 2018 Advances in the Practice of Pediatrics Conference.

Genomics Institute sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine has garnered the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for fastest genetic diagnosis. Through close collaboration with leading technology and data-science developers — Illumina, Alexion, Clinithink, Edico Genome, Fabric Genomics and Diploid—the RCIGM team, led by President and CEO Stephen Kingsmore, M.D., D.Sc. (pictured on the left), has engineered a seamless process—enhanced by in-house expertise—to deliver analysis and interpretation of life-threatening genetic variations in just 19.5 hours. This amazing feat provides hope for newborns and children with rare, genetic diseases. Learn more.

Dr. Bower Honored with Palliative Medicine Award

Kimberly Bower, M.D., F.A.A.H.P.M., HMDC, chief of palliative medicine, was honored with the California State University (CSU) Institute for Palliative Care’s 2017 Doris A. Howell, M.D., Award for Advancing Palliative Care during a ceremony on Jan. 9, 2018. Her husband, Dr. Gary Buckholz, also received the award. Both were nominated by their colleagues, who cited the doctors’ exemplary leadership skills, compassion and commitment to improving care for patients with serious or life-limiting illness. Dr. Bower helped create the first home-based pediatric palliative program in Southern California.

Dr. Chambers Honored for Work on Cerebral Palsy

Hank Chambers, M.D., director of the Cerebral Palsy Center at Rady Children’s, was honored at the United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego’s Life Without Limits Annual Awards Dinner on Nov. 14. The event recognizes individuals in San Diego who embody leadership and community service – and who improve the lives of friends and neighbors with disabilities throughout the county.

Bernardy Center Receives Highest Possible Rating (2017-18)

The Helen Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children at Rady Children’s has received the highest possible overall rating of five stars in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017-2018 Best Nursing Homes. The ratings highlight the top nursing homes in each city and state, out of nearly 16,000 facilities nationwide. Only 15 percent of facilities that U.S. News rated achieved “Top Performing” status by earning a rating of at least 4.5. Learn more.

Rady Children’s Named CCF-Accredited Center

Rady Children’s has been named an accredited center of care by the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF), a national nonprofit committed to improving the health outcomes and quality of life for children with cardiomyopathy. The Hospital received this recognition for providing consistent high-quality cardiac care and specialized disease management to children with cardiomyopathy. Learn more on the CCF website at http://www.childrenscardiomyopathy.org/site/centerofcare.php.

Barbara Ryan Recognized by East County Chamber

Vice President of Government Affairs Barbara Ryan was one of eight women honored by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce at its 2017 Women in Leadership Luncheon awards. The 15th annual event recognizes women for their outstanding leadership, exemplary character and integrity in the community, as well as their efforts to empower women to succeed and prosper in life and business. Learn more.

Critical Care Nurses Praised by AACN

Rady Children’s critical care nurses were lauded by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) for their revision of prevention protocol for pediatric patients, ages 10 and older, at risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Since establishing these guidelines and implementing them hospital-wide, the nurses have reduced the incidence of VTE in patients by 100 percent.

Rady Children’s Specialists Receives Award of Excellence

The Institute for Healthcare Excellence/PRC honored Rady Children’s Specialists of San Diego (RCSSD) with the 2017 Culture of Excellence Award, recognizing the tremendous hard work of providers and clinical and administrative staff in working together to improve quality care and service excellence for patients. More than 20 RCSSD providers and staff lead RCSSD’s Communication in Healthcare program.

 Dr. Newton Honored by Scoliosis Society

Peter Newton, M.D., (pictured center in photo to the right) received a 2017 Whitecloud Award from the Scoliosis Research Society. He was honored with the clinical award for his paper “Two-Year Outcomes of Spinal Growth Tethering vs. Posterior Spinal Fusion for Scoliosis Flexibility vs. Reliability.”

Rady Children’s Ranks in All 10 Specialties (2017-18)

Rady Children’s ranked in all 10 specialties surveyed by U.S. News & World Report  in its Best Children’s Hospitals rankings for 2017-18. Our Orthopedics and Neonatology programs achieved particular distinction, ranking #3 and #5 respectively in the nation. Learn more.

Bernardy Center Earns Top Rating (2016-17)

For the eighth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report ranks the Helen Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children as one of the best nursing homes in the nation for 2016-17. The Center received the top rating: 5 stars!

KidSTART Wins Award of Excellence

Kidstart-LogoKidSTART has won the prestigious Jackson Healthcare Program of Excellence Award as part of its 2016 Hospital Services Charitable Services Awards Program. With this award, KidSTART is one of only 10 programs across the nation recognized for excellence in the areas of community impact, innovation and collaboration.

Rady Children’s Achieves Magnet® Designation

ANCC Sub Brand Names v2Rady Children’s has received Magnet® designation from the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC), recognized as the gold standard of nursing excellence. The status is earned by hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria that measures the strength and quality of their nursing care. The standards are high — less than 7 percent of hospitals in the U.S. achieve this status.

Dr. Magit Honored with Teaching Award

Anthony Magit, M.D., (pictured on the left) received the 2016 Sylvan Stool Award for outstanding teaching and mentorship from SENTAC (Society for Ear, Nose and Throat Advances in Children)The award is named after one of the fathers of pediatric otolaryngology, Sylvan Stool, M.D.

Dr. Choo Awarded Pediatric Cancer Research Grant

sun-choo-mdSun Choo, M.D., received a 2016 Hyundai Hope on Wheels Young Investigator Award. The $150,000, two-year grant will be used to fund research on Ewing sarcoma. The award was presented at Rady Children’s on Sept. 9, 2016, in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, during a ceremony in which handprints of local cancer patients were captured on a white 2016 Hyundai Tucson to commemorate their fight against the disease. Rady Children’s was one of 10 recipients across the country selected from nonprofit Children’s Oncology Group (COG) member institutions after a rigorous grading process.

Dr. Wenger Receives Lifetime Achievement in Pediatric Orthopedics

dennis-wenger-md awardsDennis Wenger, M.D., is the recipient of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) 2016 Distinguished Achievement Award, given to a surgeon who has made important contributions to the field of children’s orthopedics. Among these contributions are his groundbreaking work in hip dysplasia, slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) and Perthes disease; his authorship of “Children’s Orthopaedics in North America — History, Genealogy, and Evolution;” his enthusiastic participation as a thought leader at POSNA annual meetings; and his excellence in teaching fellows and residents in pediatric orthopedics at Rady Children’s.

Dr. Trauner Receives Lifetime Achievement in Child Neurology

doris-trauner-md awardsDoris Trauner, M.D., of the Division of Neurology and a distinguished professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Child Neurology Society, one of the society’s most prestigious honors. The award recognizes Dr. Trauner’s deep commitment to humanism in medicine, her leadership and service to the society and her lifelong advocacy for the principles of the society.

Genomics Institute Gets Guinness World Records® Title

Dr. Kingsmore with Guinness certStephen Kingsmore, M.D., D.Sc., president and CEO of Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, is the official title holder of the Guinness World Records® designation for fastest genetic diagnosis, which he accomplished by successfully diagnosing critically ill newborns in just 26 hours, as published in the journal Genome Medicine. The honor was celebrated at a press conference at Rady Children’s on April 25, 2016, where the office of San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer proclaimed the day to be “Dr. Stephen Kingsmore Day.” Learn more.

Epilepsy Center Recognized for Quality in Care

Rady Children’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center received Level 4 accreditation for 2016-NACE certificate2017 from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest-level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy. Learn more

Dr. Bower Honored in Hospice and Palliative Care

kimberly-bower-mdKimberly Bower, M.D., who specializes in hospice and palliative care with Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and Scripps Health, earned fellow designation from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She received the honor on March 12, 2016 at the academy’s annual meeting in Chicago. The distinction represents a minimum of five years of academy membership and participation in its activities, letters of recommendation and board certification in hospice and palliative medicine.

Cardiovascular Surgery Program Earns Highest Designation

Rady Children’s Cardiovascular Surgery program received a three-star designSTS_logoation from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, placing it in the highest quality tier for cardiac surgery performance. The designation was obtained for the program’s 2015 Fall Report and is based on the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database mortality risk model. See our outcomes.

Dr. Kaufman Named Healthcare Champion

BUZZ KAUFMAN awards sizedDr. Irvin “Buzz” Kaufman was named a 2015 Healthcare Champion by the San Diego Business Journal, winning the category of physician for a large healthcare entity (based on number of employees). Dr. Kaufman has dedicated his life to the care of sick and injured children. During his more than 40 years at Rady Children’s, he has served in various roles. In his present position as the senior vice president for health affairs and chief medical officer, he serves as the liaison with the medical staff and the leaders of the various medical groups associated with the Hospital. Read more (see page B120).

Rady Children’s Named HealthCare’s 2015 “Most Wired”

For the fourth consecutive year (2015, 20142013, 2012), Rady Children’s is named as  one of the nation’s “Most Wired” hospitals by Hospitals & Health Networks. The magazine’s Most Wired survey is designed to measure the level of IT adoption in U.S. hospitals and health systems.

Rady Children’s Ranks in All 10 Specialties; Orthopedics #2 (2015-16)

For the fifth consecutive year (20152011), Rady Children’s ranked in all 10 specialties surveyed by U.S. News & World Report for its Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. Our Orthopedics program achieved particular distinction, ranking as the #2 program in the nation.

The rankings highlight U.S. News’s top 50 U.S. pediatric facilities in cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & GI surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology. Read more.

Bernardy Center Earns Top Honors (2015)

Rady Children’s Bernardy Center Earned Top Honors from U.S. News & World Report for seven years in a row (20152009). The Helen M. Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children continuously rates as one of the nation’s “Best Nursing Home” in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of nearly 16,000 facilities. Only those facilities with perfect five-star ratings from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid earn a place on this prestigious Honor Roll. Read more.

Three Doctors Receive Physician Excellence Awards

Dr Tina Chambers1X

William Roberts, M.D., John Kanegaye, M.D., and Dr. Tina Chambers (pictured) received physician excellence awards at Rady Children’s 2015 Annual Meeting. Dr. Roberts received the award for Excellence in Critical Care, Dr. Kanegaye for Excellence in Teaching, and Dr. Chambers for Excellence in Research.

Ernest Rady Named San Diego Person of the Year

Ernest Rady, friend and benefactor of Rady Children’sErnest, was named U-T San Diego’s 2015 Person of the Year. Among his philanthropic gifts, Ernest (and family) has pledged $120 million to support the Rady Pediatric Genomics and Systems Medicine Institute at Rady Children’s. The gift is the largest donation ever made to Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Dr. Bradley Garners Top Honor in Infectious Diseases

john-bradley smallJohn Bradley, M.D., FAAP, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, received the Award for Lifetime Contribution in Infectious Diseases Education from the American Academy of Pediatrics (2014).

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Rady Children’s Named Social-Media-Friendly Hospital

Rady Children’s was named among the top 75 social media friendly children’s hospitals by NurseJournal.org (2014).