Cincinnati Children’s Ranked Number Three in the Nation by U.S. News

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center ranks third overall in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 Best Children’s Hospitals ranking. In addition, for the first time, the hospital was ranked number one in the pediatric specialty of cancer care.

The Honor Roll recognizes a small number of hospitals that are “unusually competent” across at least three specialties, according to Avery Comarow, health rankings editor at U.S. News. Cincinnati Children’s is ranked in the top 10 for nine of the 10 pediatric specialties that U.S. News ranked and in the top five for eight of the 10 specialties. The specialty rankings for Cincinnati Children’s are:

“I’m proud that we are again recognized as one of the top three children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News,” said Michael Fisher, president and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s. “Our exceptional overall ranking and the stellar rankings of so many of our programs are the result of hard work and teamwork throughout the medical center.”

“Cincinnati Children’s deserves high praise,” adds Comarow. “The ranking shows the dedication and expertise that Cincinnati Children’s brings to the care of children who need those qualities the most. We think it is important to identify and call attention to pediatric centers like this one.”

U.S. News introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of sick children find the best medical care available. The rankings offer families an exclusive look at quality-related information at the individual hospital level.

Each hospital’s reputation among doctors was only a small part of what U.S. News factored into its rankings. Seventy-five percent of each hospital’s score was determined through an analysis of patient outcomes and data on the structural resources each hospital has for pediatric care.

To gather data, U.S. News used two surveys: a clinical questionnaire sent to 179 pediatric hospitals and, for the reputational assessment, a survey of 150 pediatric specialists and subspecialists in each specialty. These 1,500 physicians were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty, setting aside location and expense. This reputational survey made up the remaining 25 percent.

Ranked First in Cancer Care

This is the first year that Cincinnati Children’s was ranked first in cancer. Cincinnati Children’s has become a center known for taking on the most complex childhood cancers and finding innovative ways to help children when traditional treatments no longer work.

The Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute (CBDI) at Cincinnati Children’s is known for having:

• The leading national center for bone marrow transplants and anti-cancer therapies.
• A leading center for laboratory research that turns discoveries from the lab into cures for patients.
• More than 1,000 doctors, nurses, scientists, researchers and staff to provide care and research new cures for the most difficult cancer cases from around the world.

"Our program stands out for serving children whose cancers have relapsed and taking on the highest-risk cases, which helps explain why more than 60 percent of our patients travel from other states and countries to receive care here," said John Perentesis, MD, FAAP, director of Oncology and Cancer Programs and co-director of the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute.

For More Information About the Rankings

Survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, procedure volume, and much more can be viewed on http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings and will be published in the U.S. News Best Hospitals 2014 guidebook, available beginning in August.

About Cincinnati Children’s

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center ranks third in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 Best Children’s Hospitals ranking. It is ranked #1 for cancer and in the top 10 for nine of 10 pediatric specialties. Cincinnati Children’s is one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health, and a research and teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The medical center is internationally recognized for improving child health and transforming delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org. Connect on the Cincinnati Children’s blog, via Facebook and on Twitter.