St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children Receives Achievement Award

Hospital outreach program recognized for innovation in health care

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children received one of 14 awards from the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) in its 2009 Achievement Award program. HAP’s Achievement Awards recognize the most innovative hospital programs in the state. More than 100 hospital programs competed.

St. Christopher’s “The Shelter Project: Homeless Healthcare for Children” program was recognized in the “Community Outreach and Engagement” category. The program brings healthcare professionals from the hospital to two local homeless shelters twice a month to provide free medical care for children and health education to their mothers, who are the victims of domestic violence.

Since the “Homeless Healthcare for Children” program began in July 2007, St. Christopher’s clinicians have provided care for nearly 500 children, averaging 26 children per visit at the larger shelter and about three per visit at the smaller shelter.

St. Chris physicians perform exams on these at-risk children while dispensing advice, prescriptions, referrals, donated books and healing hands to help many families in crisis. Dentists from the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile also make regular visits, and nurses offer mothers support and education on a wide array of children’s and women’s health topics.

In addition to medical care, St. Chris staff also organizes annual holiday parties at the shelters and has donated winter coats, baskets of cleaning products, Halloween costumes and school bags full of supplies and books to the women and children living there.
“These programs are examples of the commitment hospitals and health systems make – every day, in good times and bad – to their patients, communities, and employees,” said HAP President and CEO Carolyn F. Scanlan. “They are among the most innovative and creative in the health care field, and we salute their accomplishments.”

The 2009 HAP Achievement Award entries were evaluated by a 20-judge panel representing the public and private sectors, health care and business organizations, the media, and for-profit and nonprofit entities.

Since 1875, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children has been providing exceptional patient care and advancing new pediatric treatments through research and innovation. Through affiliations with Drexel University College of Medicine and Temple University School of Medicine, St. Christopher’s is a teaching hospital helping to train the next generation of professionals in pediatric medicine.

The 189-bed hospital is committed to delivering high quality family- and patient-centered care to children from throughout the Philadelphia area and around the world. Its highly acclaimed programs include its Cystic Fibrosis Center, Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), as well as its Burn Center, which is the only dedicated pediatric burn center in the area. In 2009 St. Christopher’s achieved Magnet status, which is one of the nation's highest forms of recognition for nursing excellence.

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children is part of the Tenet Health System.