October 16, 2014 — Our CEO, Dr. Steve Altschuler, announced that once again, CHOP has placed atop the U.S. News and World Report Honor Roll for 2014–15. We share this honor with Boston Children’s Hospital this year due to a change in survey methodology, putting less emphasis on reputational scores, an area where CHOP has always excelled. The divisions of Neonatology and Pulmonology were ranked No. 1, and Diabetes/ Endocrinology and Neurology/Neurosurgery were ranked No. 2. Children’s Hospital was in the top 4 in all 10 subspecialties surveyed. Dr. Altschuler expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the entire Hospital family for the roles everyone played in our remaining No. 1.

A recent issue of the Philadelphia Business Journal featured plans for further expansion of CHOP services locally, nationally, and internationally. The development for new projects in and around the immediate area of the Main Campus is underway. These will provide more space for research, nonpatient activities and patient care. Suburban Specialty Care Centers in the CHOP Care Network are also expanding.

CHOP has been involved with children’s hospital partnerships in the United Arab Emirates and India. CHOP has been associated with the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, helping to improve pediatric care delivered there. Dr Altschuler stated, “My grand vision is that there will be CHOP-branded facilities around the world, so every patient could get to one of them within a 6-hour flight.”

In addition to these international sites, CHOP provides specialized services for families of international patients who travel to Philadelphia for intricate and complicated care. Presently, 59% of international patients come from the Middle East and 11% from Europe.

In June, Mark Carroll, class of ’89, presented a special Grand Rounds entitled “Telemedicine and Emerging Innovation: 5 Reasons Pediatrics Should Care.” He is medical director of Population Health Innovation for Northern Arizona Healthcare and the Flagstaff Medical Center. His work and research interests reflect his commitment to creating change in healthcare delivery.

Did you know that the Class of 1963 recruited 2 pediatric interns? Now CHOP’s first-year class has 49 residents! There was 1 chief resident; now we have 4. The entire medical house staff totaled 24 back then; this year we have 140.

We are very interested in any news that you have about yourself and/or fellow alumni. Please contact Molly Force at forcem@email.chop.edu. Molly is assuming CHOP Foundation alumni responsibilities from Barrie Nussbaum, and we thank Barrie for her help these past years. You can find more information about fellow alumni on our alumni website at www.chopalumni.org.

Honors and Awards

  • The Advances in Neuroblastoma Research Association recently conferred its highest honor —the ANRA Lifetime Achievement Award— on CHOP’s Garrett M. Brodeur, MD. The award singles out a researcher who has achieved worldwide scientific prominence in investigating neuroblastoma over the course of a career.
  • Beverly J. Lange, MD, an exemplary physician and researcher at CHOP for more than 40 years, received the 2014 Distinguished Career Award from the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO). The award recognizes her outstanding lifetime contributions to the care of children with cancer. Lange retired in 2013.

Contributed by: Patrick S. Pasquariello, MD