Children's Memorial ranked among U.S. News & World Report's 2010 top pediatric hospitals
June 3, 2010 – Children's Memorial has been named one of the top 30 best children’s hospitals in the United States in nine pediatric specialties. The hospital ranked among the top 10 in five pediatric specialties, and ranked fifth in urology. The rankings were published in U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 edition of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals,” published online here.
“Children's Memorial is pleased to be recognized among the premier pediatric hospitals in the nation,” said Thomas P. Green, MD, physician-in-chief and chair, Department of Pediatrics. “We are very proud to have scored particularly well on care-related measures assessed for each specialty, ranking #5 in urology, and #10 in cancer, gastroenterology, kidney diseases, and neurology/neurosurgery.”
The rankings for each of the 10 pediatric specialties were based on reputation among physicians and data-driven factors such as outcomes and care-related indicators including patient volumes, infection control, advanced clinical services, nurse staffing ratios and availability of key technologies.
In every specialty, 150 pediatric specialists randomly selected from a national database were asked to name the five best hospitals for children with serious or difficult problems in their specialty without considering location or expense. Three years' worth of responses in six specialties (cancer, gastroenterology, heart and heart surgery, neurology, neonatology, and pulmonology) and two years' worth in four specialties added in 2009 (diabetes and endocrinology, kidney, orthopedics, and urology) made up 35 percent of a hospital's score in each specialty.
In the last several years, reputation accounted for 50 percent or more of the score, but improvements in outcomes-related data collection and analysis allowed the weighting to be redistributed more evenly. This year outcomes represented 25 percent of the total hospital score for each specialty and care-related indictors made up 40 percent of the total scores.
The largest pediatric hospital in Illinois and the pediatric educational facility for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Children's Memorial provides specialists in every known pediatric specialty. These physicians served more than 140,000 children last year. The American Nurses Association has recognized the hospital as the first hospital in the state – and the first pediatric hospital in the nation – to receive its prestigious Nursing Excellence Magnet Award.
Founded in 1933, U.S. News & World Report is devoted to reporting and analyzing national and international affairs, politics, business, health, science, technology and social trends. Through its annual editions of America's Best Colleges, America’s Best Graduate Schools, America's Best Hospitals, America’s Best Health Plans and America’s Best Leaders, as well as its News You Can Use® brand, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers.
Find the complete rankings of children's hospitals here. The rankings will appear in the August print issue of U.S. News, which will be at newsstands July 27.