Lurie Children’s Expertise in Surgical Care Recognized

Proficiency in surgical care at all levels, from the simplest procedure to the most complex heart transplant, continues at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, as the hospital received in August renewed recognition as a Level I Children’s Surgery Center. Lurie Children’s is one of 25 pediatric hospitals in the nation and the first in Illinois to have this designation.

The Level I verification is awarded by a multi-organizational taskforce led by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the body responsible for setting the nation’s standards for quality of surgical care, practice and training. Lurie Children’s has had this verification since 2016.

“This is a badge of honor because it means that Lurie Children’s is one of the premier hospitals in the region with multiple medical and surgical specialties,” said Marleta Reynolds, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief; Chair, Department of Pediatric Surgery; Lydia J. Fredrickson Professor of Pediatric Surgery; Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The continued recognition means Lurie Children’s has the resources to provide a wide-range of surgical care to patients of all ages, including severely premature newborns. Multidisciplinary specialists work together to treat complex and rare diseases. Board-certified pediatric surgeons, pediatric anesthesiologists, neonatal and pediatric critical care specialists, radiologists and trauma and emergency medicine physicians are available to patients around-the-clock. And the hospital maintains a quality improvement program with teams meeting monthly to review data related to safety to ensure the best quality of patient care.

For more information about this honor and its requirements, visit the American College of Surgeons (ACS) website.

The Department of Surgery at Lurie Children’s hospital includes ten pediatric surgical subspecialties, including Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, Dentistry, General Pediatric Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Transplant Surgery and Urology.

Founded in 1882, Lurie Children’s is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and one of only a handful of U.S. children’s hospitals with a dedicated pediatric research center, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. Last year, the hospital served more than 220,000 children from 48 states and 49 countries.