Real Outcomes: Nicklaus Children's Hospital

Improving Healthcare Quality

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital (NCH) is the primary pediatric provider for close to 70 percent of children in the Miami metropolitan community. Rani S. Gereige, Executive Director of Medical Education, credits ACCME’s Commendation Criteria with pushing his team to greater innovation. During their most recent application for Accreditation with Commendation, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital was able to demonstrate the many ways their CME program helped improve patient access to care. 

• Their CME team taught learners to integrate telemedicine into their practice, helping clinicians safely transition premature babies from the neonatal intensive care unit to follow-up care at home. By collaborating with the hospital’s telemedicine department, they were also able to reduce overall patient wait times. After two years, 64% of telehealth patients accessed care within 7 days, significantly surpassing the 50% rate among those seen in-person.  
• Integrating patient screenings data into their grand rounds, they uncovered food insecurity as the most significant social need among their pediatric population. The educational program facilitated collaboration between clinicians and the social work team, leading to an increased number of food bank referrals. Of the patients who received a referral, 85% reported utilizing this resource. 

“We see children who may have additional needs that we might not always think of first in a medical setting, such as food insecurity or hazardous living environments,” Rani said. “By making these social drivers of health an important part of our CME, we were able to more effectively address barriers to care.”