St. Mary's Medical Center and Children's Hospital Colorado Form Care Alliance

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Mary's Medical Center|SCL Health (St. Mary's), the region's top hospital, and Children's Hospital Colorado (Children's Colorado), one of the nation's top 10 children's hospitals, announced today they have entered into a formal Care Alliance collaboration to provide children and their families with the highest level of coordinated medical care as close to home as possible.

St. Mary's Medical Center president, Brian Davidson M.D., said "We're very excited about the new Care Alliance with Children's. This will improve our ability to deliver the highest quality pediatric care right here in the Grand Valley. It is very much in keeping with our Right Care. Right Time. Right Place. philosophy."

The formal agreement establishes a standing Child Care Alliance Council between the two hospitals. The council's work will include streamlining care coordination to help reduce costs, improve quality, support collaborative case management, and advance research and knowledge sharing. Of key significance, the alliance means that local kids and their families will rarely have to travel out-of-town to access some of the best minds in pediatric care for their children and young adults.

"We are proud to partner with St. Mary's Medical Center," said Jena Hausmann, chief executive officer of Children's Hospital Colorado. "We believe all children should benefit from the knowledge and expertise of our pediatric experts, regardless of where they choose to receive care.  The ultimate goal of this alliance is to provide the highest quality pediatric care in the local community, and to streamline coordination," added Hausmann.

The joint Child Care Alliance Council is made up of senior level leaders from both St. Mary's Medical Clinic and Children's Hospital Colorado. The first order of business for the Council is to conduct assessments and prioritize needs. "Our work together will build over time, but this collaboration signals a priority focus on pediatric care at St. Mary's. As the leading medical facility in the region we believe in our duty to help fill gaps in community care. It is extremely difficult for a family to be away from home and work when their child has medical or surgical needs. That's why this collaboration is so significant," says Dr. Davidson.

Children's Hospital Colorado has a long history of partnering with community hospitals to provide pediatric care close to home.

Joint Child Care Collaboration Council Goals

• Explore, define, and measure outcomes
• Expand pediatric patient care in the most cost effective ways
• Keep care local while improving access to specialized pediatric and neonatal care
• Align goals and resources with the not-for-profit missions of both hospitals

Special Areas of Specific Focus

• Healing environments that engage and empower children and young adults
• Nursery and Pediatric Unit support (NICU and pediatric units) size, education, protocols and staff training and education
• Specialty outreach : pediatric clinic and telemedicine
• On Call : telephone consults and advice
• Training and mentoring
• Academic appointments
• Dedicated Neonatal and Pediatric Ambassadors
• Research Consortium

About St. Mary's Medical Center
St. Mary's Medical Center is the largest and most capable medical and surgical hospital between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1896, the hospital operates 346 licensed beds and supports 650 credentialed physicians and clinicians. St. Mary's is a patient-centered, non-profit hospital and part of the faith based SCL Health system. St. Mary's is consistently ranked highest in the region in patient safety scores. It provides the highest level of general and acute care services regionally including a Level II Trauma Center, CareFlight regional medical transport, a certified stroke center, certified chest pain center, cancer center, Level III NICU, certified Occupational Health and Rehabilitation, and more. St. Mary's 70-year old Saccomanno Cancer Research Center is internationally known for its clinic trials work and collaborates with some of the largest medical organizations in the nation. St. Mary's is the community's largest payroll contributor and also its largest investor in community charity care and in the healthcare infrastructure of Mesa County.

About Children's Hospital Colorado
Children's Hospital Colorado (Children's Colorado) has defined and delivered pediatric health care excellence for more than 100 years. Founded in 1908, Children's Colorado is a leading pediatric network entirely devoted to the health and well-being of children. Continually acknowledged as one of the nation's outstanding pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and ranked on its Best Children's Hospitals 2016-17 Honor Roll, Children's Colorado is known for both its nationally and internationally recognized medical, research, education and advocacy programs, as well as comprehensive everyday care for kids throughout Colorado and surrounding states. Children's Colorado is the winner of the 2015 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize, and is a 2013-2016 Most Wired hospital according to Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Children's Colorado also is recognized for excellence in nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Centers and has been designated a Magnet® hospital since 2005. The hospital's family-centered, collaborative approach combines the nation's top pediatric doctors, nurses and researchers to pioneer new approaches to pediatric medicine. With urgent, emergency and specialty care locations throughout Metro Denver and Southern Colorado, including its campus on the Anschutz Medical Campus, Children's Colorado provides a full spectrum of pediatric specialties. For more information, visit www.childrenscolorado.org and connect with Children's Colorado on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

SOURCE St. Mary’s Medical Center; Children’s Hospital Colorado

Related Links

http://www.childrenscolorado.org