U.S. News Ranks Cincinnati Children's Among Top 10 Pediatric Hospitals

Hospital Moves Up From 8th to 7th in Nation

Friday, August 24, 2007

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has been named among the 10 best children's hospitals in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Children's Hospitals" ranking. Cincinnati Children's ranks 7th among 122 eligible hospitals in the United States.

This is the first year that U.S. News has used a new methodology to rank children's hospitals. In past years, U.S. News based its ranking solely on reputation. This year, it added care-related factors, such as patient volume, advanced technology and recognition by outside organizations. In each of the last two years, Cincinnati Children's was ranked as the 8th best children's hospital in the United States.

"Our inclusion in this ranking is a reflection of our vision to be the leader in improving child health and to transform delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation," says James M. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Cincinnati Children's. "We are committed to achieve for our patients the best outcomes, the best patient and family experience and the best value."

To be eligible for this year's rankings, a medical facility had to be classified by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) as a freestanding children's hospital or as a children's "hospital within a hospital" – a large, multidisciplinary pediatric service within a medical center.

Of the 122 children's hospitals meeting this standard as of March 2007, 113 responded to a U.S. News survey asking for data and statistics on a variety of procedures. Thirty of these facilities made the cut as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals."

"Improving the usefulness and relevance of the rankings in this important specialty has been a longstanding goal of the magazine" says Avery Comarow, a senior writer with U.S. News & World Report who has been editor of the "America's Best Hospitals" annual rankings since their inception. "We hope that parents and caregivers will find this special report helpful when seeking out medical attention for their child."

The survey is the second by U.S. News this year in which Cincinnati Children's ranked among the nation's best in medicine. Earlier this year, U.S. News ranked the department of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center the third best pediatric program at a medical school in the United States, behind only the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. The third-place ranking, based on a survey of medical school deans and senior faculty, was found in the U.S. News & World Report annual guide to America's best graduate schools.

In January of 2007, Child magazine named Cincinnati Children's among the top five children's hospitals in the United States, fourth in neonatal care and fifth in cancer care. Cincinnati Children's also ranked among the best in the nation for all other pediatric subspecialties that Child magazine rated.

The "America's Best Children's Hospitals" guide in U.S. News is scheduled to hit newsstands Monday August 27.

Cincinnati Children's, one of the top five children's hospitals in the nation according to Child magazine, is a 475-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. For its efforts to transform the way health care is provided, Cincinnati Children's received the 2006 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize". Cincinnati Children's ranks second nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health and is a teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health.