Children's Hospital Los Angeles Ranked In Top 5 Nationwide

LOS ANGELES, CA — Among the sunny beaches, star-sightings, and killer street tacos, another bonus of life in Los Angeles is access to top hospitals for families.

A list issued Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report of the nation's top 10 pediatric hospitals ranks Children's Hospital Los Angeles as No. 5 in the nation. Between some of the region's top general hospitals and Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles residents have access to some of the best healthcare the nation has to offer.

The new list highlights the top 50 hospitals with pediatric specialties. The specialties examined include: cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology & lung surgery and urology. Only 10 hospitals earned a place on the Honor Roll. It's an honor awarded to pediatric centers that deliver exceptionally high- quality care across multiple specialties, according to the publication. Children's Hospital Los Angeles was the only California facility on the top 10 list.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles stood out in areas of cardiology, diabetes and endocrinology. The hospital o was No. 4 — up from No. 5 — in a list of five hospitals excelling in the Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery category. Its other rankings included No. 4 — Diabetes & Endocrinology (up from No. 5); No. 5 — Orthopaedics; No. 9 — Gastroenterology & GI Surgery; No. 9 — Neurology & Neurosurgery; No. 9 — Neonatology (up from No. 14); No. 10 — Cancer; No. 13 Urology; No. 13 — Pulmonology (up from No. 16); No. 16 — Nephrology (up from No. 18).
UCLA, meanwhile, said U.S. News had recognized "UCLA Mattell Children's Hospital for excellence across all pediatric specialties," ranking it in the top 20 in three pediatric specialties and among the top 50 in seven others.

Boston Children's Hospital was recognized as the nation's No. 1 pediatric center for the sixth consecutive year when U.S. News announced the 2019-2020 Best Children's Hospitals. elsewhere around the state, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals of San Francisco and Oakland was No. 5 on the list of the top five hospitals in the category of Pediatric Neonatology.

Boston Children's Hospital claimed the top spot on the Honor Roll and landed at No. 1 in five of the 10 specialties; cancer, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics and urology. Hospitals with No. 1 rankings in other specialties include Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (in diabetes & endocrinology and gastroenterology & GI surgery), Texas Children's Hospital (in cardiology & heart surgery and pulmonology & lung surgery) and Children's National Medical Center (in neonatology).

The 2019-20 Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll included the following, according to U.S. News:

1. Boston Children's Hospital

2. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

3. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (tie)

3. Texas Children's Hospital (tie)

5. Children's Hospital Los Angeles

6. Children's National Medical Center

7. Nationwide Children's Hospital

8. UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

9. Johns Hopkins Children's Center

10. Seattle Children's Hospital

U.S. News said the Best Children's Hospitals methodology factors objective measures, such as patient outcomes, including mortality and infection rates, as well as available clinical resources and compliance with best practices.

It said RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and consulting firm, collected and analyzed data from children's hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists. More than 100 medical directors, pediatric specialists and other experts provided input through methodology working groups.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.