Department of Pediatrics Earns National Recognition From U.S. News & World Report

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The department of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati has again been ranked among the top five pediatric programs at medical schools in the United States.

The U.S. News & World Report annual guide to America’s best graduate schools ranks the department of pediatrics at UC as the third best in the nation, behind only Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. The rating is based on input from 128 medical school and osteopathic deans, deans of academic affairs and heads of internal medicine or the directors of admissions.

Medical students at UC receive their pediatric training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, which U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks among the top ten pediatric facilities in the nation. The department of pediatrics consists of the Cincinnati Children’s in-house physicians, researchers and other individuals who hold academic appointments at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

"This ranking demonstrates that our faculty is among the top nationally in clinical care, education, and in basic, clinical, and outcomes research,” says Arnold Strauss, MD, chair of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation. “We are proud of this achievement and of the excellence that it recognizes. Excellence in education will develop national leaders among pediatric practitioners, physician-scientists and PhD scientists. Those investigators will discover innovative new therapies to improve outcomes for children and to prevent disease. Excellence in clinical care will create an environment for further learning about best practices and to test new therapies.”

The Research Foundation ranks second nationally among pediatric institutions in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The department of pediatrics includes 471 faculty members with total sponsored program awards totaling $131 million in fiscal 2008, including $102 million in grants from the NIH.

In the 2008 edition of its annual “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” rankings, US News & World Report ranked Cincinnati Children’s the nation’s third best children’s hospital in general pediatrics. The ranking is the highest Cincinnati Children’s has ever received from U.S. News.

For more information about Cincinnati Children’s, visit www.cincinnatichildrens.org. For information on UC, visit www.uc.edu.

About Cincinnati Children's

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is one of America’s top three children’s hospitals for general pediatrics and is highly ranked for its expertise in digestive diseases, respiratory diseases, cancer, neonatal care, heart care and neurosurgery, according to the annual ranking of best children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. One of the three largest children’s hospitals in the U.S., Cincinnati Children’s is affiliated with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and is one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health. For its achievements in transforming healthcare, Cincinnati Children's is one of six U.S. hospitals since 2002 to be awarded the American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize ® for leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment to patient care. The hospital is a national and international referral center for complex cases, so that children with the most difficult-to-treat diseases and conditions receive the most advanced care leading to better outcomes. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.