Heart Center at Lurie Children's Named an Accredited Center of Care by Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation

October 31, 2017

The Heart Center​ at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago 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. Cardiomyopathy is a chronic heart disease that affects how the heart pumps blood through the body. The Heart Center at Lurie Children’s received this recognition for consistently providing high-­‐quality cardiac care and specialized disease management to children with cardiomyopathy.

Pediatric cardiomyopathy is a complex and variable disease with only a quarter of those diagnosed having a known cause. Like other chronic illnesses, pediatric cardiomyopathy requires a team approach to providing comprehensive care. The accredited centers list will provide an important resource for families seeking the best specialized medical care in their area.

“This accreditation program aims to identify centers with expertise in pediatric cardiomyopathy and provides families with standardized information to help them locate the top treatment centers,” says Lisa Yue, CCF’s founding executive director. 

Center accreditation is based on data reported by hospitals and cross referenced against CCF’s center requirements. Centers meeting CCF’s criteria are designated as a CCF-­‐accredited center of care for two years. In general, accredited centers manage a high volume of pediatric cardiomyopathy patients, offer a variety of pediatric patient services, specialize in the treatment and management of cardiomyopathy in children, and are affiliated with an academic research institution. Information about CCF’s Accredited Center of Care program and selection criteria is available on CCF’s website