View the interactive 2011 Annual Report online

Download the 2011 Annual Report (.pdf)

Dear friends,

As national leaders in pediatric medicine, we at Children’s Hospital Colorado strive to improve the lives of all children. Our focus is on preserving the health and well-being of every child who comes through our doors. It is what our patients, families and neighbors expect from us. It is what we expect from ourselves.

We are actively involved in changing the landscape of our own community through local partnerships that teach kids how to live healthier lives. Prevention is as important to our community as restoring a child’s health. That is why community benefit activities accounted for 20 percent of our expenses in 2011.

We were also looking forward when we set out to build our hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus. We drafted plans for an expansion that will be completed at the end of 2012. Along with other programs, the expansion will house one of the top fetal care centers in the nation by integrating obstetrics, neonatology, fetal therapy and fetal cardiology under one roof. The Colorado Fetal Care Center is led by Dr. Timothy Crombleholme, an internationally recognized leader in the field of fetal and pediatric surgery. This program, part of the Colorado Institute for Maternal and Fetal Health, allows us to partner with University of Colorado Hospital and the University of Colorado School of Medicine to provide the best care for moms and babies in one location. This program combines the talents of our adult counterparts to bring the very best care and advanced research for treating high-risk newborns. We will continue to provide the best pediatric healthcare in the most technologically advanced setting – for now and as we design the future of pediatric healthcare.

This past year, we joined medical and legislative partners to lead relevant conversations and position children’s health for the future. Children’s Colorado is a leader in supporting alternative approaches to reduce overall costs of Medicaid by coordinating care, managing high-risk patients and rewarding providers for healthy outcomes. In our own organization, eliminating waste and increasing efficiency are as important as implementing cost-cutting measures. At local and
national levels, we are leading and partnering with government officials to develop strategies that identify safety net programs that will do more with less. In our own backyard, Children’s Colorado was a significant contributor supporting the passage of a nationally recognized youth concussion act, which requires coaches of youth athletics to complete annual concussion training. Our job is not just to establish better treatment outcomes but to work side-by-side with
coaches, players and parents to help minimize the health risks while promoting an active lifestyle.

Taking wisdom from the past and looking beyond what we know today is what “seeing around corners” is all about. To ensure Children’s Colorado remains what it set itself out to be when we were founded more than 100 years ago, we must always be prepared to meet any challenge and every opportunity with unwavering resolve.

It is with a sense of humbleness and great respect for our patients, families, community and campus partners that we work to provide the best pediatric healthcare today as well as take part in defining better healthcare for children in the future.

Sincerely,

James E. Shmerling, DHA, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer

Cathey Finlon, Chair of the Board of Directors