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Children are still developing and their bodies function differently than adults. Therefore they have special needs for diagnosing and treating injuries and illness. Their small size, especially infants, also make diagnostic testing or treatment more difficult. Some adult hospitals just don’t have equipment small enough to accurately capture an image or to treat a small child.
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A children’s hospital will be equipped with technology perfectly sized for your child and will be staffed with specially trained and experienced professionals in caring for the physical as well as emotional needs of children.
That’s not to say that your child must only go to a children’s hospital. Talk to your child’s physician and discuss your child’s specific needs. In the case of an emergency, the closest emergency room is always the best choice. Emergency professionals have the ability to stabilize and transfer to a children’s hospital when appropriate.
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How Do You Choose the Best Children's Hospital? |
As with most specialty hospitals, your physician will likely recommend one or two
children’s hospitals if one is required. However, these recommendations are often
based simply on proximity and your physician having privileges there. We want you
to know you still have a choice. We suggest you do your research before you accept
his or her recommendation.
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1. Quality – The government provides quality data on children’s hospitals in areas of asthma care which can be found in the Quality Score column in your search results and on the Quality tab of the hospital’s home page. These measures however are sporadically reported. That’s why WhereToFindCare.com developed its own measure of quality: the WTFC Quality Score.
The WTFC Quality Score (in your search results and on the hospital’s home page) shows how other people like you rated a hospital’s quality. Quality data from user surveys are obtained in real-time from people who have been experience with a children’s hospital and have submitted a review on WhereToFindCare.com. The WTFC Quality Score is the percentage of people who rated the children’s hospital on WhereToFindCare.com and said they received quality care. This experience-based satisfaction score cannot be found elsewhere today except by word of mouth.
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2. Recommendations – Check the WTFC Would You Recommend score to see if others recommend a hospital.
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Word of mouth recommendations are very important. They can tell us whether we can get along with providers on a personal level. You can read other people’s experience by going to a provider’s page on WhereToFindCare.com and clicking on the Survey Results tab.
There you see how others answered survey questions, and any comments made about the provider. Also look for CareStars™ recognition. People may have left comments about exceptional caregivers at each children’s hospital. CareStars™ comments give you a sense that the hospital employs caring individuals that will provide the service you need.
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