Dear Friends,
2016 was a milestone year for Miami Children’s Health System and its flagship Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. After a half-decade of planning and construction, we proudly opened doors to the hospital’s new 213,000-square-foot Advanced Pediatric Care Pavilion — a beautiful melding of form and function that offers families of children in our critical and advanced care units comfort and privacy within a technologically sophisticated setting.
We also opened doors in 2016 on a new, more stringent accreditation process. Nicklaus Children’s set its sights on becoming an early adopter of accreditation by DNV GL — Healthcare and in 2016 became the first children’s facility in South Florida to attain this new heightened accreditation status. This initiative is part of our commitment to offer the very best in care to the children and families we serve.
Also within this pivotal year, we continued to shine, basking in the glow of three gold-level beacon Awards garnered individually by our intensive care units (cardiac, neonatal and pediatric). Nicklaus Children’s is one of only two children’s hospitals in the nation to have achieved triple ICU Beacon Award status from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses in recognition of exceptional care leadership and excellence.
Our ever-growing network of outpatient centers continued to expand to serve new communities. Openings in 2016 included the new Nicklaus Children’s West Bird Outpatient Center, offering urgent care services, and the Nicklaus Children’s Aventura Care Center, providing pediatric subspecialty consults. These new centers add depth and scope to a thriving outpatient network that extends from Palm Beach Gardens to southern Miami-Dade County.
The health system also opened virtual healthcare doors in 2016 through our telehealth initiatives. A highlight was our pilot program with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, connecting school nurses with care professionals at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Telehealth Command Center. The pilot made it possible for children to be assessed for minor illnesses while still at school, keeping them in the classroom whenever possible.
We extend sincere thanks to our physicians, nurses, care and support staff, volunteers, donors and all members of the Miami Children’s Health System family for another great year of serving children.
Sincerely,
M. Narendra Kini, MD, MHA, CEO, Miami Children's Health System
Mr. Alex Soto, Chairman, Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Mr. Mario Murgado, Chairman, Miami Children's Health System