| Children's Healthcare of Atlanta | |
| Region: | Atlanta area |
| State: | Georgia |
| Country: | US |
| Funding: | Non-profit |
| Type: | Specialist |
| Affiliation: | Emory University School of Medicine |
| Speciality: | Pediatric hospital |
| Wiki-Links: | Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital |
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA)[1] is a not-for-profit children's healthcare system located in the Atlanta area, dedicated to caring for infants, children, teens, and young adults age 0–21 throughout Georgia.[2] Children's formed in 1998 when Egleston Children's Health Care System and Scottish Rite Medical Center came together, becoming one of the largest pediatric systems in the United States. In 2006, Children's assumed responsibility for the management of services at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital, growing the system to three hospitals.[3] [4]
Today the growing pediatric healthcare system consists of the following:
In 2022, CHOA managed:[5]
CHOA is one of the few pediatric institutions in the nation that has existed for more than a century.[6] Its origins date back to the founding of Scottish Rite Convalescent Home for Crippled Children in 1915, which consisted of two rented cottages with 20 patient beds. The Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children opened in 1928, with 52 beds.
During the 1990s the United States healthcare industry changed dramatically. Hospitals throughout the country faced colliding pressures, such as reimbursement issues, insurance coverage changes and staff shortages. Egleston Children's Health Care System, which included the Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children and Scottish Rite Medical Center were among the hospitals that had struggled to continue providing care for sick and injured children and their families. Both hospitals were faced with the possibility of closure; Atlanta leaders urged Egleston and Scottish Rite to unite to preserve pediatric healthcare for the region.[7]
In 1998, the two hospitals merged to form Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The new organization improved its standing immediately by eliminating redundancies and reducing costs. CHOA went on to achieve even greater financial improvements, reaching $38 million in savings in just 24 months—when the original goal had been $30 million over a five-year period. In addition to exceeding the organization's original financial targets, CHOA achieved new benchmarks for customer service and employee satisfaction.
In 2006, CHOA assumed responsibility for the management of Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital.[8] The transaction was facilitated by a $20 million donation from philanthropist Diana Blank.[9] That same year, CHOA launched a comprehensive, five-year campaign to raise funds for the largest proposed healthcare facility expansion and renovation project in the State of Georgia's history. Called the One to Grow on Campaign, the campaign raised a total of $294 million which surpassed the original goal of $265 million. The campaigns success was in part due to the generous support of the Atlanta area community.
In 2008, CHOA launched the Strong4Life Clinic to help families struggling with health issues related to weight. The Strong4Life Clinic provides a specialized pediatric-trained team members, including a board-certified obesity medicine pediatrician, a dedicated pediatric psychologist as well as a staff of registered dietitians, exercise physiologists and other wellness experts.[10] In 2022, Strong4Life reached more than 813,000 children through advocacy efforts.
In January 2010, CHOA announced a $75 million investment in pediatric research centers of excellence over a five-year period, with a focus on the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's.[11]
In November 2020, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson collaborated with Microsoft and Bill Gates to donate Xbox Series X consoles to CHOA along with 19 other children's hospitals throughout the country.[12] [13] [14]
See main article: CHOA Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital (ABH) is a planned freestanding, 446-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital currently under construction at I-85 and North Druid Hills Road in Brookhaven, Georgia. It will be affiliated with the Emory University School of Medicine and will be the flagship hospital of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The hospital will provide comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Atlanta and will feature an level I pediatric trauma center. Its regional pediatric intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) will serve the Atlanta and greater Georgia region. The hospital will also have a helipad to transport critically ill patients to and from the hospital. This undertaking is the largest healthcare project in Georgia's history.[15]
One of the first buildings to open on the campus, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics is an outpatient clinic that was built as a part of phase 1 of the construction plan.[16] The 260,000 ft building opened July 24, 2018.[17] [18] The facility offers more than 20 different pediatric specialties and clinics.[19] [20] The Center for Advanced Pediatrics is not a hospital and does not provide emergency, urgent care or other walk-in services.
As one of the largest autism centers in the U.S., Marcus Autism Center offers families access to the latest research, comprehensive testing and science-based treatments. What started as an act of compassion for local children[21] with autism by Bernie Marcus, is today one of the country's largest clinical centers for pediatric autism. After realizing the difference the center was making for kids with autism, CHOA saw potential to combine efforts to provide top-quality healthcare to all children. In 2008, Marcus Autism Center became a part of CHOA.Through collaboration with CHOA and Emory University, the transformative work[22] at Marcus is known throughout the nation and world.
Since 2005, U.S. News & World Report has ranked CHOA among the nation's top pediatric hospitals. For 2023–2024, CHOA has four specialties ranked in the top 10 and eight specialties ranked in the top 20.[23] [24]
| Specialty | Rank (In the U.S.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cancer Program (Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center) |
| |
| Cardiology & Heart Surgery Program |
| |
| Gastroenterology & GI Surgery Program |
| |
| Nephrology Program |
| |
| Neurology & Neurosurgery Program |
| |
| Orthopaedics Program |
| |
| Pulmonology & Lung Surgery Program |
| |
| Urology Program |
|
In addition to $77 million in NIH grant funding that led to the second No. 1 ranking, more than 2,200 publications in more than 1,000 journals in the same time period helped support groundbreaking efforts to develop new treatments or cures in 50 specialty areas.[26]
The Children's Christmas Parade was a major community event to benefit CHOA. Beginning in 1981 with Egleston Children's Hospital (which later merged with Scottish Rite Children's Hospital), it was held on the first Saturday in December, which is also the second weekend after Thanksgiving.
Cape Day is an annual tradition, which began in 2013. Held each October, the event encourages the community to honor and celebrate the strong and resilient patients facing illnesses and injuries at CHOA. On the designated day, patients, employees, schools, organizations and communities across the state are encouraged to wear a cape, as well as share videos and photos, tagged with #CapeDayATL.[27]
CHOA offers numerous specialized camps and retreats that bring together children and teens with similar medical conditions, diseases, and disabilities.[28] Some of these include the whole family. The goal of each camp is to give patients the opportunity to have fun, meet others with similar conditions and build confidence. The majority of these outings are held at Camp Twin Lakes, which operates several camp locations throughout the Georgia.[29]