Children's Hospital Among Nation's Best According to U.S. News & World Report
June 18, 2009
U.S.News & World Report magazine placed Seattle Children’s Hospital among the nation’s top children’s hospitals for the 17th consecutive year. The results were announced as part of U.S.News & World Report’s annual America’s Best Children’s Hospitals issue.
Children’s Cancer, Urology, Kidney, Respiratory, and Neurology and Neurosurgery programs recognized in nation’s top ten
Today U.S. News & World Report magazine placed Seattle Children’s Hospital among the nation’s top children’s hospitals for the 17th consecutive year. The results were announced as part of U.S. News & World Report's annual America’s Best Children’s Hospitals issue on newsstands July 21. Children’s was ranked 4th in the country for kidney disorders, 6th for cancer, 8th for urology, 9th for respiratory disorders and 9th for neurology and neurosurgery.
Other Children’s programs receiving top recognition by U.S. News included neonatal care, orthopedics, digestive disorders and heart and heart surgery. Children’s was the only children’s hospital in the Pacific Northwest to make the list.
“We are truly honored to be recognized among the best children’s hospitals in the nation,” said Dr. Thomas Hansen, CEO at Children’s. “Through the support of our community and tireless work of our employees, we are striving to improve outcomes, discover new treatments, and provide the best possible care to our patients and their families. Even in the toughest economic times, we continue to maintain our founding promise, to provide medical care to all children in our region — regardless of a family’s ability to pay.”
The methodology behind this year’s rankings weighed a three-part blend of reputation, outcome and care-related measures such as nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing and other factors. The hospitals were judged based on a combination of opinions from pediatric specialists about the hospitals they would recommend for the sickest children and data gathered in a 65-page survey covering medical information ranging from surgical death rates to whether pediatric anesthesiologists and other subspecialists are on the staff. A detailed description of the methodology can be found at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.
Ranking-eligible facilities were largely drawn from two membership categories of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI): freestanding children’s hospitals, or “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 the 160 children’s hospitals invited to complete the 65-page survey, 98 responded.
Details about the final rankings may be found at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.