St. Petersburg, Fla. – May 19, 2022 – The American College of Surgeons (ACS) designated Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital as a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center. Johns Hopkins All Children’s is the third children’s hospital in Florida and the only one in the Tampa Bay region to achieve Level 1 verification. Fewer than 50 children’s hospitals in the United States have earned this verification of excellence.

Verified centers ensure that children facing surgery receive care under a multidisciplinary program with quality improvement and safety processes, data collection, and appropriate resources provided to them as patients at the hospital. The commitment to quality care begins with appropriately trained staff and leadership from surgeons who participate in meetings throughout the year to review the center’s surgical outcomes. The surgical team seeks continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process, and outcomes of the center, and participates in a national data registry. An experienced survey team from the ACS conducted an extensive site visit to ensure the center meets essential criteria for staffing, training, facility infrastructure and protocols for care.

“Level 1 verification for children’s surgery tells families and physicians that a center has the expertise, facilities, capabilities and processes to provide safe, high-quality surgical care to children,” says Paul Danielson, M.D., FACS, chair of the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s. “The verification program is based on other nationally recognized American College of Surgeons programs that have measurably improved surgical quality and have prevented complications, reduced costs and saved lives.”

The Children’s Surgery Verification program established the nation’s first and only multispecialty standards for the surgical care of infants and children. These evidence-based standards represent expert consensus, and are also supported by the American Pediatric Surgical Association and the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia.

“This achievement recognizes the capabilities of our surgical programs and the team’s commitment to excellence,” said Alicia Schulhof, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital president. “It also acknowledges our role as an organization to be leaders for our region when it comes to safe and effective surgical care for kids.”

Read more about this recognition.

About Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg is a leader in children’s health care, combining a legacy of compassionate care focused solely on children since 1926 with the innovation and experience of one of the world’s leading health care systems. The 259-bed teaching hospital, stands at the forefront of discovery, leading innovative research to cure and prevent childhood diseases while training the next generation of pediatric experts. With a network of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Care centers and collaborative care provided by All Children’s Specialty Physicians at regional hospitals, Johns Hopkins All Children’s brings care closer to home. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital consistently keeps the patient and family at the center of care while continuing to expand its mission in treatment, research, education and advocacy. For more information, visit HopkinsAllChildrens.org.