Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh have joined the top tier of U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of the nation’s best children’s hospitals.
The 20th edition of the closely watched rankings evaluated clinical data from 114 of the 199 eligible children's hospitals and incorporated survey responses from more than 40% of U.S. physicians. It includes state and regional rankings, rankings across 10 pediatric specialties and an unranked Top 50 list for hospitals' behavioral and mental health programs.
Ninety of the reviewed hospitals received at least one recognition across the categories. Among these were 11 “Honor Roll” children’s hospitals, an unranked best-of-the-best that, compared to last year, included two new faces and no longer hosts Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego.
Those honorees are as follows:
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
- Boston Children's Hospital
- Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora
- Children's Hospital Los Angeles
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Children's National Hospital, Washington, D.C.
- Cincinnati Children's, Cincinnati
- Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
- Seattle Children's Hospital
- Texas Children's Hospital, Houston
- UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
U.S. News noted that each of the Honor Roll hospitals was the top facility in its home state, or was tied for number one in each state and region.
Facilities analyzed by U.S. News and research firm RTI International for the annual project include freestanding children’s hospitals, a “hospital within a hospital” pediatric service functioning autonomously within a larger medical center, or a specialty hospital. The partners accepted responses to their distributed survey through mid-March.
The hospitals’ scores are primarily (more than 50%) based on hospitals’ structural measures and processes, which include patient safety practices and allocation of clinical resources. About a third (depending on specialty) is tied to outcomes, and 10% or less is tied to expert opinion from physician surveys.
“Families can use these resources as a starting point, as they talk to their doctor about finding the care for their sick child or teen that is near them,” Jennifer Winston, Ph.D., senior health data scientist, said of the process and of the state and regional rankings in particular. “It's really important for families to be able to receive treatment that's close to home.”
Beyond its goal of serving as a patient resource, U.S. News’ annual release is a feather in the cap for recipient hospitals, which often highlight their accolades in public-facing messaging materials.
Last month marked the launch of the broader “Best Hospitals” rankings, which named 505 facilities as the best in their region, 73 for excelling in community access and 20 to the Honor Roll for excelling across multiple areas of care.