Introduction to the National Children's Hospital
The National Children's Hospital was founded in 1870 in Washington DC. When it first opened, the hospital had just 12 beds to care for orphans from the American Civil War. But today, with over 150 years of history, 323 beds and over 600 dedicated paediatrician specialists, National Children's Hospital is one of the top ten children's hospitals in the country.
To provide a reference for patients worldwide, each year, U.S. News & World Report, one of the three major weekly news magazines in the United States, updates and publishes a ranking of US hospitals. In its 2020-21 overall ranking of children's hospitals in the United States, National Children's Hospital was ranked seventh in the country, with neonatal care ranked first in the country for four consecutive years; the top 10 departments were: neonatal care, neurology & neurosurgery, cancer, nephrology, orthopaedic surgery, pulmonary medicine & pulmonary surgery, diabetes and endocrinology.
The hospital has twice been designated as a Magnet® hospital, demonstrating extremely high standards in paediatric care and patient care.
In addition, the hospital has been actively leading the way in innovative solutions to paediatric health challenges. Home to the Children's Research Institute (CNRI) and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, the National Children's Hospital is the seventh highest ranked children's hospital funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The hospital's Research and Innovation Campus is a dedicated centre for paediatric research and innovation, bringing together public and private partners to translate scientific breakthroughs into novel treatments and technologies that benefit children. The campus welcomed its first occupant, the Institute for Rare Diseases, in February 2021.
Excellence in medical care, innovative research and a team of specialists specialising in a wide range of paediatric diseases and physical and mental dysfunctions make the National Children's Hospital ready to handle a wide range of complex paediatric patient cases, making it a destination for families with children from all over the world to seek treatment.
Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Centre
Dr Jeffrey Dome, who heads the Cancer and Blood Disorders Centre at the National Children's Hospital, is a world-renowned expert in the treatment of paediatric cancers such as nephroblastoma. In addition, the hospital's multidisciplinary team includes 40 board-certified haematologists and oncologists, 15 specialists who collaborate with the unit to provide care, and more than 20 nurse practitioners and physician assistants who have received special training in paediatric cancer care.
The multidisciplinary team develops an individual treatment plan for each child based on the diagnosis. Every year, hundreds of new children with tumours come to the National Children's Hospital seeking treatment.
Specialist treatment programmes available include
Brain Tumour Institute: creates individualised treatment plans for children with brain tumours, which may include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, neurosurgery and novel immunotherapy. Associated diseases such as
Ventricular meningioma
High-grade and low-grade gliomas, including diffuse endogenous pontine glioma (DIPG)
Infantile malignant brain tumours
Medulloblastoma and other embryonal tumours
Neurofibromatosis
The Leukaemia and Lymphoma Programme: admits a large number of patients each year and is involved in clinical research into a variety of innovative therapies. Advanced therapies include bone marrow transplants, cellular therapies and other novel therapies available through clinical trials.
Solid Tumour Programme: A team of specialists specialising in solid tumours allows children to benefit from a comprehensive treatment programme. Related diseases such as
Neuroblastoma
Nephroblastoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Retinoblastoma
Osteosarcoma
Innovative therapies available include
Blood and Marrow Transplantation: The Hospital's Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program is one of the few programs in the nation with a dedicated team of pediatric bone marrow transplant surgeons and advanced practice nurses, and one of the few programs that can perform an extracorporeal photodissociation replacement method to manage dangerous post-transplant complications in children, including graft-versus-host disease.
Cellular therapy: Cellular therapy can help children who have been unsuccessful with conventional treatment for blood cancers or who have suffered infections as a result of cancer-resistant bone marrow transplants. This is one of the few programmes in the world to offer paediatric cell therapy, and is a leader in clinical and research studies using peripatetic cell therapy to boost the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases.
Proton therapy: National Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins? Hopkins Medical Group, two of the nation's top-ranked paediatric cancer programmes, have collaborated to create a dedicated paediatric radiation oncology programme. Through this programme, children have access to a team of paediatric-trained doctors and specialists to receive more advanced radiation therapy, including cutting-edge proton therapy.
Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
The specialist ENT team at the National Children's Hospital is an international leader in the field of ear, nose and throat care, treating 22,000 children each year. A wide range of ENT care is available here, from basic to complex, whether it's managing chronic ear infections or performing advanced procedures to treat hearing loss.
