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Phoenix Children’s hosted its 9th annual Quality Day event — a yearly initiative showcasing our unwavering commitment to safety, innovation and continuous improvement. The 2025 event brought together leaders and clinical teams to spotlight 50+ staff-led quality initiatives designed to enhance patient care, safety and outcomes throughout our pediatric health system. Following leadership presentations and the chance for attendees to explore all the abstracts, Quality Day culminated with an awards ceremony recognizing standout quality projects.
Phoenix Children’s is proud to have two healthcare team members make PHOENIX Magazine’s 2025 Healthcare Heroes list: Mark Hartsuck (left), a pediatric nurse in our Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, and Breanna Tabor (right), a child life specialist (pictured with her teammate, Sparky Joy).
In honor of National Hospital Week, Robert Meyer, President & Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Children’s, penned personal “thank you” notes to many incredible teams throughout our pediatric health system who help fulfill our mission — to advance hope, healing and the best healthcare for children and their families. We enjoyed spending the week hosting many activities to celebrate the incredible healthcare professionals who deliver compassion, innovation and excellence every day. It’s our way of thanking them for their significant impact on our community.
Every Nurses Week, Phoenix Children’s leadership presents Nursing Excellence awards to skilled professionals who best embody our mission, vision and values. For 2025, congratulations to the following award winners (left to right): -Transformational Leadership Award: Susan Johnson, director of nursing services for our perioperative team (Karen Johnson accepted the award on Susan’s behalf) -Nursing Innovation Award: Natalia Argel, a clinical research nurse in pulmonology -Rising Star Award: Rebecca Schneider, a pediatric nurse -Education Award: Ashley Schrimpf, clinical supervisor of ambulatory services -Staff Nurse of the Year: Eric Chrostowskia clinical nurse in medical-surgical and intensive care
Get to know Dr. Carla Allan, Phoenix Children’s division chief of psychology and the Hagenah Family endowed chair in psychology, in the May 2025 issue of 𝘚𝘰 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘦. Dr. Allan shares her professional journey that ultimately led her to Phoenix Children’s — where she has been instrumental in embedding mental and behavioral health services into our comprehensive pediatric care model. Thanks to Dr. Allan, we have expanded our commitment to ‘whole-child’ health, offering family-centered care to address every child’s physical, emotional and social needs.
Dr. Deborah Tom, a neonatologist and chair of medical student mentorship at Phoenix Children’s, was recently inducted into the 2026 class of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) by the University of Arizona College of Medicine -- Phoenix chapter. The GHHS recognizes students, residents and faculty who best exemplify compassionate patient care and role models, mentors and leaders in medicine.
Congratulations to Dr. Paul Tran (right), a pediatric gastroenterologist at Phoenix Children’s, who earned the Outstanding Educator Award from the University of Arizona College of Medicine -- Phoenix’s third-year class. This student-nominated award honors Dr. Tran’s unwavering dedication to teaching, mentorship and shaping the next generation of physicians. His passion for medical education continues to inspire his students and colleagues alike! 𝘋𝘳. 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘳. 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭 (𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵), 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘹 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯-𝘪𝘯-𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺.
Congratulations to the incredible care team on the 8th floor at Phoenix Children’s Hospital — Thomas Campus for earning the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Gold Beacon Award of Excellence! This award-winning team provides care for children in our nephrology, neurosurgery, transplant and pediatric epilepsy monitoring units. This national recognition awards those who meet rigorous clinical criteria and demonstrate excellence in leadership, staffing, communication, evidence-based practices and measurable outcomes.
Dr. Angela Valdez-Huizar, a pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s, was named Arizona’s 2024 Immunization Champion by the CDC and Association of Immunization Managers. Dr. Valdez-Huizar was recognized for her ongoing efforts in improving immunization rates to protect children from preventable diseases.
We were honored to host Glendale Mayor Jerry Weier at Phoenix Children’s Hospital — Arrowhead Campus, where he officially proclaimed April 21 – 26 as Neurodiagnostic Week! Phoenix Children’s is also proud to be Arizona’s only pediatric-specific neurodiagnostic lab to receive ABRET Neurodiagnostic Credentialing and Accreditation. Our skilled team performs a broad range of neurological diagnostics tests, including electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) testing, nerve conduction studies, pediatric epilepsy monitoring, and intraoperative monitoring in surgery.
