U.S. News Media Group Releases Rankings of Best Children's Hospitals

WASHINGTON, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News Media Group today released its fourth annual rankings of Best Children's Hospitals, available online at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals and featured in the August issue of U.S. News & World Report, available on newsstands July 27.

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Best Children's Hospitals 2010-11, the most extensive set of listings of its kind, includes an Honor Roll of eight pediatric hospitals that ranked in all 10 specialties: cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, heart and heart surgery, kidney, neonatology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology.

"Children with serious medical issues need hospital care of the highest quality, just as adults do," said Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow. "The purpose of the Best Children's Hospitals rankings is to point children who pose unique challenges in the direction of pediatric facilities with that kind of deep expertise. We're providing important information about the best of the best."

Three major elements determined if and how high a hospital was ranked: reputation, medical outcomes, and care-related indicators of quality such as patient volume, nurse staffing, and availability of specialized programs. Reputation came from a survey of pediatric specialists who were asked which hospitals they would recommend for the sickest children. The source of all other information and data was a 75-page survey created with the help of more than 80 medical directors, department chairs, infection specialists, and other experts and filled in by the children's hospitals. Some questions touched on all 10 specialties, such as the success of infection-reducing programs. Others were specific to particular specialties, such as survival rates of children with a specific cancer. A detailed description of the Best Children's Hospitals methodology can be found at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

Most of the candidates for ranking were drawn from members of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) in two categories: freestanding children's hospitals and "hospitals within a hospital" – large, multidisciplinary pediatric departments within a medical center. Several non-NACHRI members were added because of known expertise or at the recommendation of experts. Of 170 children's hospitals invited to complete the survey, 96 responded. The survey was created and administered by RTI International, the same respected research organization that also collects data and oversees the methodology for U.S. News's adult Best Hospitals rankings.

62 different pediatric facilities were ranked in at least one Best Children's Hospitals specialty. The Honor Roll recognizes eight hospitals that ranked in all 10 specialties.

Please note that their order is alphabetical. No hospital outperformed any other.

About the U.S. News Media Group

The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the monthly U.S. News & World Report magazine, the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money & Business, Education, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its "America's Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News Media Group