Metroplex Cities, Counties and Texas Legislature Commemorate Children’s Medical Center of Dallas’ 100 Years of Serving the Community

Children’s Medical Center is being honored in the coming week by several North Texas cities and counties through proclamations commemorating the organization’s centennial this year and the positive impact made on the health and well-being of Texas children. The cities include Dallas, Irving, Mesquite, as well as Collin County whose elected officials are presenting proclamations to members of Children’s leadership team.

On May 21, the Texas House of Representatives honored Children’s for serving the healthcare needs of children for 100 years and for being the oldest pediatric hospital in the state.

The proclamation ceremonies are taking place at these places and times:

• City of Mesquite, Monday, June 3 at 2:45 p.m.
• City of Dallas, Wednesday, June 5 at 9:00 a.m.
• City of Irving, Thursday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m.
• Collin County Commissioners (McKinney), Monday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m.

In April 1913, a group of visionary and courageous nurses, led by May Forster Smith, erected four donated tents to found the Dallas Baby Camp. Nurse Smith and her colleagues from the Dallas Graduate Nurses Association dreamt of one day having a great hospital just for children. One-hundred years later, the Baby Camp has become Children’s Medical Center, the fifth largest pediatric healthcare provider in the country, with a team of more than 6,000 physicians, nurses, employees and volunteers.

Today, Children’s Medical Center receives nearly 700,000 patient visits annually at its two full-service hospital campuses in Dallas and Plano, multiple specialty clinics, and MyChildren’s locations that provide primary care to children across the Metroplex.

Children’s Medical Center serves children from Texas and around the world and is the only one in North Texas, to be ranked by U.S. News & World Report in all 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. Thousands of pediatricians have trained at Children’s, and Children’s is a leader in complex care, intensive care, trauma care, and pediatric heart, kidney, liver and bone marrow transplants.

In addition to providing the most complex procedures, Children’s has also developed nationally recognized disease management programs that target childhood obesity, food allergies, eating disorders and chronic illnesses such as asthma and diabetes.

Advancing research is another priority for the future. In 2011, Children’s partnered with UT Southwestern Medical Center to create the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern. Funded by Children’s with the support of the community, the institute will house 150 world-class scientists and physicians pursuing discoveries to advance the understanding and treatment of cancer, birth defects and metabolic diseases.

More information about Children’s history and details about the Centennial celebration throughout the year, are available at www.childrens.com/100years. The website also includes an interactive timeline of Children’s history and videos highlighting Children’s past and present day.

About Children’s Medical Center

Founded in 1913, the not-for-profit Children’s Medical Center is the fifth-largest pediatric healthcare provider in the country, receiving nearly 700,000 patient visits annually with 595 licensed beds at its two full-service campuses in Dallas and Plano, and multiple specialty clinics and 15 primary care MyChildren’s locations. Children’s was the state’s first pediatric hospital to achieve Level 1 Trauma status and is the only pediatric teaching facility in North Texas, affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center. This year, Children’s is celebrating 100 years of making life better for children. For more information, please visit www.childrens.com.