Awards & Recognition
Valley Children’s is committed to providing the best care and doing no harm in the process. In effort to ensure that our care processes are among the best in the nation, we turn to transparency and reporting -- not because we are driven by rankings or statistics, but because we are driven to provide the highest quality of care to all kids in the Central Valley. Valley Children’s is currently accredited and recognized by many agencies and organizations, including:
U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospitals has ranked Valley Children’s Hospital as one of the best children’s hospitals in the country in Pediatric Orthopedics, Pediatric Pulmonology & Lung Surgery and Pediatric Urology. The rankings rely on clinical data and an annual survey of pediatric specialists.
For more than a decade, Valley Children’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Team has earned approval from the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) for meeting the Standards of Team Care for Cleft and Craniofacial Teams. The ACPA ensures that cleft and craniofacial care teams follow the proper sequence that takes place within the framework of the patients overall developmental, medical and psychological needs. Valley Children’s is one of only 190 teams with ACPA accreditation throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Valley Children’s has joined the national network of elite institutions designated by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence (AS CoE). This designation is granted to hospitals with the highest quality standards for fostering a stewardship program which protects patients from dangerous and unintended consequences to antimicrobial medications without reducing the quality of patient care.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Valley Children’s Hospital earned the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The Beacon is awarded at bronze, silver and gold levels. Valley Children’s received silver, demonstrating sustained excellence in unit performance and patient outcomes.
California Awards for Performance Excellence
Valley Children’s is a recipient of the Eureka Silver Award for Performance Excellence, the highest level of statewide recognition awarded to an organization in 2024. This notable achievement comes from the California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE) Program, administered by the California Council for Excellence. Valley Children’s is only one of two organizations to receive this most advanced honor — and the only children’s hospital in the state.
Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation has received the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly known as GuideStar), an organization that promotes nonprofit transparency by monitoring and evaluating charity performance. This recognition demonstrates Valley Children’s commitment to transparency in fundraising and dedication to stewardship.
*“Foundation Center was the largest source of information about philanthropy globally, and GuideStar was the largest source of information on U.S. nonprofit organizations. In 2019, the two organizations joined forces to become Candid, enabling us to enhance the services we offer to the millions of people who rely on us to help them make the world a better place.”
Valley Children’s has been nationally recognized for effectively using technology information management to improve patient safety and outcomes. In their 2024 Digital Health Most Wired Survey, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) awarded Valley Children’s a level eight achievement for Acute and Ambulatory services, signifying that we have not only implemented advanced technologies, but are leveraging these technologies in innovative ways and have encouraged deep adoption across the entire network.
The only free-standing pediatric rehabilitation center in California accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), Valley Children’s is one of only two free-standing pediatric rehab centers on the West Coast certified by CARF. We are accredited for Inpatient Rehabilitation with a Pediatric Specialty by CARF, acknowledging compliance with stringent national standards for rehabilitation facilities. The latest accreditation is the ninth consecutive Three-Year Accreditation outcome that the international accrediting commission has awarded the Hospital.
Valley Children’s is recognized as a Designated Platinum Center of Excellence by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). This is the highest level of international recognition that can be achieved for our extracorporeal life support (ECLS) program, making Valley Children’s one out of only 16 national and international ECLS centers in the world to receive the ELSO Award. The ELSO Award recognizes centers worldwide that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes and quality measures, staff training and continuing education, patient satisfaction and ongoing clinical care. Valley Children’s patient outcomes have been in the top 10% to 15% in the world compared to other ELSO centers.
As one of the first facilities accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) in Echocardiography, Valley Children’s is part of an elite group honored with the 25-year Silver Accreditation Milestone for demonstrating a continued commitment to offering quality patient care. The purpose of the IAC is to help cardiology facilities standardize their processes to provide better patient care and thus improved outcomes. Valley Children’s is the only hospital – adult and pediatric – in the state with a 25-year silver level accreditation of excellence for echocardiography.
We are a Joint Commission Accredited Hospital and Home Care Agency. The Joint Commission’s accreditation is a nationwide seal of approval. Valley Children’s was re-accredited in 2021, meeting all Joint Commission standards in safety and quality of care.
Valley Children's has been ranked a Top Children's hospital by The Leapfrog Group for the fifth time, highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality. Top Hospitals have better systems in place to prevent medication errors and provide higher quality of care. As only 1 out of 8 children's hospitals in the nation to exceed the toughest standards in healthcare, Valley Children's is proud to be ranked among the best in the nation for exceptional performance and for putting patients first.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center has recognized Valley Children’s for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice with four consecutive designations beginning in April 2004. Valley Children’s was the first pediatric hospital west of the Rockies to receive Magnet® designation and has remained in the elite group of less than 7 percent of hospitals nationwide for the past decade.
Valley Children’s is the only hospital in Central California to be named a Level 4 epilepsy center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.