Phoenix Children's Hospital is now an accredited adult congenital heart disease comprehensive care center.
The children's hospital earned accreditation from the Adult Congenital Heart Association Dec. 16, 2020, after a yearlong process, the hospital said last month. Phoenix Children's is the only hospital in Arizona and one of 38 nationwide to receive this accreditation.
"Even though it is an arduous process to get accredited like this, it's worth it," Wayne Franklin, MD, director of the hospital's adult congenital heart disease program, told Becker's. "It means that there is a vetted and known amount of quality to take care of these patients who can have very complicated cases."
The hospital's adult congenital heart disease program treats more than 1,000 patients annually, including adults and younger patients transitioning from pediatric to adult cardiology care. Surgeons also perform about 50 heart surgeries among this population annually.
Thanks to treatment advances, the number of patients with congenital heart disease who survive childhood is growing at about 5 percent annually, according to Dr. Franklin, who also serves as co-director of Phoenix Children's Heart Center.
While nearly 2 million adults are living with congenital heart disease in the U.S., there is a shortage of cardiologists trained to treat them, as the specialty requires about eight years of training and is not as lucrative as other specialties, Dr. Franklin said.
Data shows adult congenital heart disease patients are better treated at pediatric heart centers, as the clinicians are more familiar with their anatomy, surgery and interventions.
"An adult heart hospital might have one to three patients come through every year, but a very active pediatric hospital will perform 50 to 60 congenital heart surgeries annually," Dr. Franklin said, adding that it's easier to train pediatric clinicians to take care of adults than training adult cardiologists on congenital heart issues.
Phoenix Children's adult congenital heart disease program also prevents patients from having to seek care elsewhere once they reach adulthood.
"This is something we owe our patients," Dr. Franklin said. "We spend 18 to 21 years taking care of them, have close relationships with the parents and ensure they receive great treatment. We are excited for Phoenix Children's to show we can take care of patients of all ages."
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