June 10, 2015 -- Boston Children's Hospital is No. 1 in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report's latest annual rankings of the best pediatric hospitals. It ranks in the top 5% for all 10 specialties rated.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center ranked in the top 5% for nine specialties and in the top 10% for one specialty.
Each year, U.S. Newsrates the top 10 children's hospitals for each of 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology.
Hospitals that score in the top 10% for at least three specialties go on U.S. News’ honor roll. Although 83 of the hospitals were ranked in the top 50 in at least one specialty, just 12 of them made the honor roll by having high scores in three or more specialties.
The Honor Roll includes:
1. Boston Children’s Hospital (10 specialties)
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (10 specialties)
3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (10 specialties)
4. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston (6 specialties)
5. Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora (6 specialties)
6. Seattle Children’s Hospital (5 specialties)
7. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (5 specialties)
8. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC (4 specialties)
9. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH (5 specialties)
10. Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C. (3 specialties)
11. Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (3 specialties) (tie)
11. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (3 specialties) (tie)
The top children's hospitals in each of the 10 specialties are:
Cancer: Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Cardiology and heart surgery: Boston Children's Hospital
Diabetes and endocrinology: Boston Children's Hospital
Gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery: Boston Children's Hospital
Neonatology: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Nephrology: Boston Children's Hospital
Neurology and neurosurgery: Boston Children's Hospital
Orthopedics: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Pulmonology: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Urology: Boston Children's Hospital
How the Scoring Works
Hospital rankings are based on three areas, with each area contributing one third of a hospital's score:
- Health outcomes such as cancer survival and infection rates
- Efficiency and coordination of the care delivery process, compliance with "best practices," and infection control measures
- Resources related to care, such as adequate nursing staff and availability of programs tailored to specific illnesses and conditions