Mayo Clinic Children's Center becomes first accredited pediatric heart failure institute in Minnesota and fourth in the nation

The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium announced today that Mayo Clinic Children's Center became the first Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute in Minnesota and fourth in the nation after successfully completing a rigorous one year effort focused on the diagnosis and treatment of childhood heart failure within the community, hospital, clinician education and science.

"The expertise and dedication of the Mayo Clinic Children's Center cardiovascular team are to be commended," said Dr. John Lynn Jefferies, Colloquium's national pediatric chair and a reviewer for the site visit. "Mayo brings unique knowledge to the Colloquium and their accreditation marks an important day."

With a long legacy of putting the needs of the patient first, the Mayo logo consisting of three shields exemplifies excellence in clinical care, education, and research. The Mayo approach integrates well with the Colloquium's continuum of care model which focuses on care within the community and hospital by expert clinicians guided by current science.

"The Mayo Clinic Division of Pediatric Cardiology is honored to be part of the Colloquium," said Dr. Frank Cetta, Division of Pediatric Cardiology Chair. "The Colloquium is a vital process to ensure best practice models for pediatric patients who suffer from cardiac failure. This colloquium will advance the science of pediatric heart disease and improve treatment and ultimately outcomes for this challenging group of patients."

Within the Community Domain, Mayo Clinic Children's Center was found to be outstanding in how they engaged other organizations. "Today Mayo is often thought of as exceptional in terms of clinical care and research," said Dr. Tony Joseph, Colloquium CEO. "Seeing the high level of enthusiastic community involvement is reminiscent of the Mayo family going back to the 1880s and the original St. Mary's Hospital. Mayo Clinic Children's Center's focus on family and community reminds us of our role of service to others too often lost in the hubris of modern healthcare."

The reviewers, John Lynn Jefferies, MD (Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center) and David Wayne (Temple University adjunct faculty), conducted a detailed review of twelve specific areas within the four major Domains: Community, Hospital, Clinician, and Science. Within each Domain, Mayo completed various milestones required for accreditation.

Mayo is a major research leader and educator in the area of sudden cardiac arrest, a relatively new Colloquium milestone. "Mayo's efforts bring new knowledge to the bedside," said David Wayne, lead reviewer. "Mayo's ability to use data to define an area for improvement and then to use measurement to create cultural behavioral changes is noteworthy."

"It is clear that collaboration with other Colloquium member hospitals is a benefit," said Sonja Dahl, DNP, Heart Failure Coordinator. "Mayo Clinic Pediatric Cardiology is on a trajectory to impact pediatric patients with heart failure and their families. Providing the opportunity to work together cooperatively with other expert pediatric hospitals is a strength of the Colloquium."

The Colloquium is the first organization to develop an improvement science based approach to pediatric heart failure accreditation using a continuum of care model. The first five charter pediatric member hospitals are completing work begun in late 2011.

The Colloquium will launch five additional charter pediatric members in January 2014. In Q2 2014, selected "early adopter" pediatric hospitals will be included as well. Please contact the Colloquium for more information about how your community's children's hospital can participate.