Seattle Children's launches a $10 million Institute for Pediatric Innovation

Seattle Children's on Monday announced the Institute for Pediatric Innovation, a $10 million initiative with eight focus areas and a chief innovation officer yet to be named, GeekWire reported. The hospital is positioning the institute as the core engine of its strategic plan. CEO Dr. Christopher Longhurst said he wants today's tools, including AI, precision health and whole genome sequencing, used to solve pediatric problems in ways that were not possible before.

Longhurst told GeekWire the institute is not a new AI center and is not about the tools themselves. He said it is about outcomes and impact. Seattle Children's had approximately 600,000 patient visits last year and reported approximately $2.6 billion in expenses. Longhurst became CEO in January after a decade at UC San Diego Health, where he founded the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation. The institute is the hospital's most prominent organization-wide initiative since he took the job.