Boston, Mass. – Children's Hospital Boston's Pain Treatment Service has been named a "Clinical Center of Excellence" by the American Pain Society, an honor that is bestowed upon five pain centers each year. This is the first year Children's has entered into the nomination process.
"We are honored to be named a Clinical Center of Excellence by the American Pain Society," says Charles Berde, MD, PhD, chief of the pain management department at Children's. "Everyone in the pain division, as well as the multiple disciplines collaborating in our clinical program, deserves great praise for their hard work, innovation and commitment to this multidisciplinary effort."
The Pain Treatment Services, offered through the Department of Anesthesia, is a multidisciplinary program which provides treatment and support for acute and chronic pain problems in children and young adults. It includes the Acute Pain Treatment Service and the Chronic Pain Management Clinic, where both inpatient and outpatient services are available. Together, these services provide care for more than 2,000 patients each year.
Detailed award applications were judged by a panel of prominent pain management experts. The American Pain Society established the program in 2006 to build awareness about progressive teams of health professionals who address critical, sometimes unmet, needs in pain management within their communities. Multidisciplinary programs available in the U.S. offering direct patient care in pain management are eligible to apply.
Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is one of the nation's leading pediatric medical centers, the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and the largest provider of health care to Massachusetts children. In addition to 396 pediatric and adolescent inpatient beds and more than 100 outpatient programs, Children's houses the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries benefit both children and adults. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 13 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. For more information about the hospital visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.