The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital earns validation as leader in cardiology care

The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has recently received external validation as a national leader in cardiology care with several accreditations for outstanding quality, care and outcomes.

The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s is the first pediatric catheterization laboratory in the United States to be accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) as a Cardiovascular Catheterization Accreditation Program. This program recognizes facilities that perform cardiovascular catheterization procedures while meeting quality benchmarks based on published clinical guidelines, best practices and outcomes. Nationwide Children’s catheterization laboratory has been awarded two IAC facility accreditations in both Complex Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) and Pediatric Cardiovascular Catheterization.

“To achieve these accreditations, we met high quality metrics and underwent a rigorous evaluation through peer review of our cath lab processes, documentation, and imaging that are critical to quality patient care,” said Aimee Armstrong, MD, director of Cardiac Catheterization & Interventional Therapies at Nationwide Children's.

In addition, Nationwide Children’s was recently designated an Accredited Center of Care by the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF). The program recognizes The Heart Center’s high-quality cardiac care and specialized disease management of children with cardiomyopathy. Center accreditation is based on self-reported hospital data, which is evaluated on the volume of pediatric cardiomyopathy patients, variety of pediatric patient services offered, expertise in the treatment and management of cardiomyopathy in children, and affiliation with an academic research institution.

“We are proud to be included among the list of highly skilled and experienced hospitals that specialize in treating all forms of cardiomyopathy in children,” said Robert Gajarski, MD, section chief of The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's.

Earlier this year, the Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center was one of the first in the U.S. to receive accreditation from the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA). ACHA is a national organization focused on patient advocacy, education, and research. ACHA connects patients, family members and healthcare providers to form an Adult Congenital Heart community to improve the lives of those living with CHD.

“This accreditation validates that Nationwide Children’s and The Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center has developed   a leading adult congenital heart disease program  that provides a formalized, comprehensive care model for delivering quality CHD care ,” said Curt Daniels, MD, director of the Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.