The National Association of Childrens Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) announced the selection of Nationwide Childrens Hospital to participate in a task force to identify best practices of hospital-based clinical pediatric weight management programs. Nationwide Childrens is one of 16 hospitals selected to examine and refine successful components of the weight management programs at their collective hospitals. The task force, known as the NACHRI FOCUS Group on Obesity, is supported through an exploratory grant provided by the Mattel Childrens Foundation.
I am proud that Nationwide Childrens was selected to share the quality initiatives and cost-effective innovations that have been effective in combating childhood obesity in our community, said Steve Allen, MD, Nationwide Childrens CEO. We look forward to contributing to such an important body of knowledge that will provide a blueprint for other pediatric centers to establish their own successful pediatric weight management programs.
The task force will hold its first meeting in November 2008 in Little Rock, AK, at Arkansas Childrens Hospital and will continue its work through 2009. The final findings will be published in January 2010.
The Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Childrens Hospital has taken a leadership role in both the prevention and treatment of overweight children through its comprehensive approach to weight management. In April 2009, Nationwide Childrens will co-sponsor the conference, Chronic Diseases in Childhood Obesity: Risks and Benefits of Early Intervention Symposium. The meeting will explore the advent of chronic metabolic diseases among young, overweight children and the response from the medical community. Findings from a collaborative survey conducted by NACHRI and the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition on pediatric obesity programs and the FOCUS group will be presented at the conference. Nationwide Childrens is also a partner in the childhood obesity committee of the Ohio Business Roundtables Health is Everybodys Business Inc. initiative.
Childrens Hospital Association and Mattel Childrens Foundation Select Nationwide Childrens Hospital to Participate in Task Force on Best Practices for Pediatric Weight Management Programs
October 27, 2008
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.