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Outcomes - By the Numbers

Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Program

From the first day kids receive rehabilitative care at Phoenix Children’s, our team stays focused on their goals and ours. We want to help them to grow stronger, do more, gain confidence and – as soon as possible – go home. 

Tracking specific measures of success helps us to find the best ways to help your child or adolescent. We can see what works best and use the most motivating, innovative and effective equipment, facilities and methods to develop ideal therapy plans.

The numbers tell us:

  • How efficiently and effectively we’re providing our services
  • How well and how soon our patients are gaining critical skills and functions
  • Whether we’re providing access to great care for all patients with all types of conditions and care needs
  • Where there are new opportunities to develop our program

These results guide our therapists, physicians and others as we create and carry out personalized care plans.  In addition to improving care, timely data helps us to keep insurers and stakeholders informed about our program. Our good results and favorable comparisons to other programs nationwide reassure you that your child’s care is in good hands. 

How the Experts Measure Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation Care

The acute inpatient rehabilitation team at Phoenix Children’s uses these and other measures of progress:

  1. WeeFIM (functional independence measure) – This is a pediatric version of a nationally recognized scoring system for acute inpatient rehabilitation programs. It shows how our patients are advancing in their abilities to function and live more independently.
  2. Average length of stay – While each child has a length of stay that is unique to their condition and goals, the average length of stay in our program helps patients, families and referral providers know how long it generally takes to reach treatment goals. It also helps us monitor and improve our efficiency and quality of care. 
  3. Discharge to home – This measures the percentage of our patients who have improved enough to go home instead of transferring to another facility, such as a longer-term residential home.
  4. Average age – We track average ages and break down numbers by age groups. This information helps us meet the needs of everyone we serve, at any age. 
  5. Number of patient admissions – Tracking how many patients we admit quarterly and yearly helps with planning. It also shows the range and capabilities of our rehabilitation services. 
  6. Percentage of patients with brain injury – As leaders in neurology, trauma care and other complex pediatric specialties, Phoenix Children’s also leads in helping a high number of children with complex brain injuries.

A Closer Look at Six Standard Measures of Success

The following data show how Phoenix Children’s measures and improves pediatric inpatient rehabilitation care and how we compare to similar programs nationwide. 

Phoenix Children's acute inpatient rehabilitation program helps kids improve function and feel better more quickly. When compared to national averages of similar inpatient rehabilitation programs, our kids spend less days in the inpatient program and can return to their homes and community more often.

1. Number of WeeFIM Points Gained

This outcomes measurement and management tool tracks specific measures of function and levels of independence in children. The FIM (functional independence measure) was developed by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. It’s used by most adult inpatient, outpatient and community-based rehabilitation programs. 

WeeFIM is a version of FIM scoring used to evaluate pediatric rehabilitation programs. Experts use WeeFIM scores to calculate how efficiently improvements occurred over the time kids spend in our program. WeeFIM scores points based on a child’s level of independence in functional skill categories, including:

  • Cognition (thinking)
  • Communication
  • Control of bowel/bladder  
  • Eating
  • Mobility
  • Self-care, also known as activities of daily living (ADLs)

WeeFIM results for Phoenix Children’s inpatient rehabilitation program show that:

  • The overall number of points gained representing functional improvement on average per patient is higher than that of comparable programs around the country for calendar year 2023 and above the national average for the fourth quarter (October - December) of 2023.
  • Our staff is providing the right amount of therapy, and our kids are working hard to improve their level of functional independence. They’re making great strides, so they can get better and go home sooner. 
TIMEFRAMEPHOENIX CHILDREN'SNATIONAL COMPARISON
2023: January - December23.421.9
2023 – Q4: October - December23.422.5

 

2. Average Length of Stay

This measure tracks the average of how many days our patients stay in our program. It helps patients, families and referral providers with planning. However, each patient’s length of stay is based on individual condition, needs and goals. 

When compared to other programs, this average tells us how we are doing in terms of time spent gaining important improvements in function. It reflects our goal to be as efficient as possible while providing high-quality care.  

Length of stay results for inpatient rehabilitation program at Phoenix Children’s show that:

  • Our program’s average length of stay is lower than the national comparisons for calendar year 2023 and the fourth quarter (October - December) of 2023.  
  • When using this number and the number of points gained on average per patient on the WeeFIM, we get a length of stay efficiency score that shows that our patients score more points per day than other comparable programs.

TIMEFRAMEPHOENIX CHILDREN'SNATIONAL COMPARISON
2023: January - December14.8 DAYS25.1 DAYS
2023 – Q4: October - December15.4 DAYS25.9 DAYS

 

3. Discharge to Home

This represents the percentage of our patients who have shown enough improvement to return to their home and community versus having to go to another institutional care facility to reside. 

Phoenix Children’s discharge-to-home inpatient rehabilitation numbers show that: 

  • Our patients return to their homes more often than the national average for calendar year 2023 and the national average for the fourth quarter (October - December) of 2023.  
  • Our program has provided the support, training and resources our patients and families need so they are ready and able to provide care at home and get back to everyday life.
TIMEFRAMEPHOENIX CHILDREN'SNATIONAL COMPARISON
2023: January - December94.4%89.9%
2023 – Q4: October - December97.2%89.1%

 

4. Average Age

This is the average age for all the patients admitted to our program for calendar year 2023 and the fourth quarter (October - December) of 2023.  This data helps to identify the ages of the patients we are caring for. We also break it down by age groups representing the patients we serve.  

Phoenix Children’s recent average-age inpatient rehabilitation numbers show that: 

  • The average age of our patients is similar to other pediatric rehabilitation programs around the country. It also tells us if the population of patients we serve is changing so we can meet their needs.
  • We serve a broad range of children. Taken together, the average age of our patients and the specific age group numbers reflect Phoenix Children’s diversity of care and capabilities. We understand and serve the rehabilitative needs of all children and adolescents, regardless of age. 
TIMEFRAMEPHOENIX CHILDREN'SNATIONAL COMPARISON
2023: January - December9.311.2
2023 – Q4: October - December9.711.1
Number of Patients by Age Group
AGES2023: JANUARY - DECEMBER2023 – Q4: OCTOBER - DECEMBER
0-3233
3-5174
5-7156
7-10248
10+6417

 

5. Number of Patient Admissions

This number shows how many patients we admit to our program yearly and quarterly. Tracking the number of patients admitted to a program gives patients and families, as well as our program leaders, an understanding of the size of our program. Seeing trends in admission volumes helps us to plan and develop programs to meet current needs. 

Phoenix Children’s recent inpatient rehabilitation patient admissions numbers show that: 

  • We have a high volume, which reflects the breadth and scope of our pediatric inpatient rehabilitation program.
  • Our patient admission numbers demonstrate that our team has strong experience in caring for patients with a wide variety of conditions.
 2023: JANUARY - DECEMBER2023 – Q4: OCTOBER - DECEMBER
Patient Admissions14437

 

6. Percentage of Patients with Brain Injury

This number represents the percentage of all our admitted patients who have some type of brain-related condition that affects normal function.  

What the percentages tell us about rehabilitation care for brain-injury and other conditions:

  • The inpatient rehabilitation program at Phoenix Children’s has a high percentage of patients with brain-related diagnoses. Although we treat a wide range of patients with other conditions, children with neurological injuries represent the largest group of patients we serve. This is because our teams have extensive pediatric-focused experience in neurology, complex rehabilitation and related specialties.
  • Our exceptional expertise includes specialty care through Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) at Phoenix Children’s and our status as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center. Phoenix Children’s trauma center is Arizona’s leading site for evaluating, stabilizing, treating and caring for severely injured children.  
TIMEFRAMEPHOENIX CHILDREN'SNATIONAL COMPARISON
2023: January - December89%52%
2023 – Q4: October - December75.6%52.8%
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