Seattle Children's
Seattle Children's, formerly Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, formerly Children's Orthopedic Hospital, is a children's hospital in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The hospital specializes in the care of infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0-21 in several specialties. The hospital is also ranked #10 children's hospital nationwide by the U.S. News and World Report.
History
The hospital was founded as the seven-bed Children's Orthopedic Hospital in 1907 by Anna Herr Clise after her 5-year-old son, Willis, died of inflammatory rheumatism in 1898. It was originally a ward of the downtown Seattle General Hospital. It moved to a cottage on Queen Anne Hill the next year, and in 1911 local luminaries including Herbert Gowen and Mark A. Matthews dedicated a full 40-bed hospital at the same location.The library at the hospital was founded in 1946.
In 1953, Children's moved to a new campus in Laurelhurst, east of the University of Washington.
A research division, Seattle Children's Research Institute, was established in 2006.
In December 2007, Seattle Children's purchased a seven-story building in the Denny Triangle, near downtown Seattle and South Lake Union. With this purchase, Children's acquired nearly 2 square blocks for the research insititute.
In 2008, the institution formally changed its name to Seattle Children's. In 2008, the hospital was awarded Magnet recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and was recognized again in 2013.
In 2010, Seattle Children's opened a clinic in Bellevue, Washington.
In 2011, Seattle Children's began charging an added facility charge for hospital-based clinic visits, including urgent care.
In 2013, Seattle Children's opened a 330,000 square foot expansion at the main campus in Seattle. The expansion included a new cancer and critical care unit as well as a new emergency department with 38 exam rooms. The facility added 80 new private beds in single patient rooms. The building is expected to use 47 percent less energy and 30 percent less water than similar-sized hospitals in the region.
In 2013 Seattle Children's filed a lawsuit against the Washington State Insurance commissioner for certifying insurance plans in the state's new health insurance exchange for failing to provide coverage for the hospital; the hospital also filed an administrative appeal with the insurance commissioner's office. The hospital dropped the suit and appeal in 2014 when several insurance plans covered it.
In 2014, Seattle Children's received the largest donation in its history: $73.9M from Jack R. MacDonald.
In 2017 the hospital had a total of 403 beds.
In 2018, the hospital broke ground on a new 310,000-square-foot addition to the hospital. The new nine floor addition features eight new operating rooms, two cardiac catheterization labs, 20 inpatient rooms, a new outpatient clinical space for the oncology and hematology center and an outpatient infusion center. The new addition will cost around $400 million and open up in 2022.
Controversy
In 2015 the hospital warned the public that due to its improper sterilization of surgical equipment, around 12,000 children and young adults treated there since 2010 were at risk of infection from bacteria or blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis B and C and HIV; it had issued a similar warning two years earlier.From 2001 on, it was revealed that a strain of deadly mold in the air handling systems of operating rooms was detected and covered up by hospital administrators. The mold caused 14 infections and 6 deaths. In 2018 the mold was revealed and hospital staff agreed to clean up the mold. HEPA filters were installed and operating rooms were reopened in July that year. In November 2019, mold allegations again resurfaced when an infant tested positive for a mold infection. In early 2020, the health inspectors from the State of Washington came in and questioned hospital authorities on why HEPA filters were not installed in the ORs. The mold and subsequent cover ups by hospital staff has led to several lawsuits.
Awards
In 2016, it was ranked as the 5th best children's hospital in America by U.S. News and World Report and was ranked #4 in nephrology, #6 in cancer, #5 in neonatology, #13 in gastroenterology and GI surgery, #11 in pulmonology and #9 in neurology and neurosurgery.As of 2020 Seattle Children's has placed nationally in all 10 ranked pediatric specialties on U.S. News and World Report.
| Specialty | Rank | Score |
| Neonatology | #14 | 79.3 |
| Pediatric Cancer | #11 | 87.9 |
| Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery | #16 | 74.2 |
| Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology | #10 | 78.9 |
| Pediatric Gastroenterology & GI Surgery | #18 | 81.3 |
| Pediatric Nephrology | #8 | 93.2 |
| Pediatric Neurology & Neurosurgery | #10 | 87.3 |
| Pediatric Orthopedics | #17 | 80.0 |
| Pediatric Pulmonology & Lung Surgery | #12 | 78.4 |
| Pediatric Urology | #15 | 80.1 |