August 15, 2014 — The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium announced that Texas Children's Hospital has earned the designation of Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute following 12 months of work and an extensive onsite review.
"The approach to heart failure at Texas Children's Hospital is one of the broadest ranging comprehensive programs in the U.S.," said Frank Smart, Colloquium Board chair. "They care for the sickest children daily, yet remain committed to breakthrough research that has the potential to change medicine for everyone."
The heart failure leadership team at Texas Children's Hospital worked in four domains to achieve heart failure accreditation: The Community, Hospital, Clinician, and Science. In the community their preventative screening program for sudden cardiac arrest in young people was especially notable. The hospital itself is an integrated small city where pediatric patients can actually go to an accredited classroom for their schooling while on ventricular assist devices and after heart transplantation. In the Clinician Domain, physician and nurse education is part of the institutional culture. Novel approaches to practical applications of science are everywhere. One example is the "Just in Time" scenario room where world-class clinicians can come together and practice possible clinical scenarios to prepare themselves anticipating emergencies before they take place.
"The Colloquium is about bringing together experts to improve heart failure care for children across the entire continuum of care," said Dr. Daniel J. Penny, chief of cardiology at Texas Children's Hospital. "We are delighted that Texas Children's is a recognized member of this expert group. We look forward to working with The Colloquium wherever children with heart failure have a need."
The Colloquium is the first organization to develop an improvement science based approach to pediatric heart failure accreditation. Member hospitals conduct the site visits following the guidelines developed by all member hospitals, making the Colloquium's approach to accreditation unique in America. The site reviewers were Frank W. Smart, M.D., FACC, (Colloquium Board Chair) and Sonja H. Dahl, DNP, RN, CPNP, (Heart Failure Leadership Team Coordinator at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.).
For more information: www.texaschildrens.org
February 03, 2026 
