Teen Agrees Johns Hopkins Cancer Center Deserves U.S. Ranking

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg is among the best pediatric hospitals in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings.

The best children’s hospitals for 2019-20 rankings released on Tuesday feature the 50 best hospitals in 10 pediatric specialties.

Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, 501 6th Ave. S., ranked 44th among 50 hospitals in pediatric cancer and pediatric pulmonology and lung surgery.

Johns Hopkins All Children’s was the only children’s hospital on Florida’s West Coast to make the list.

“Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is honored to receive this recognition. Our cancer and pulmonology specialists care for some of the region’s most medically complex children, and we are grateful for this recognition of their hard work,” said Tom Kmetz, interim president of the hospital. “Within these areas and across the entire hospital, our staff is committed to delivering high-quality, safe care to our young patients and their families.”

Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, which is another member of the Johns Hopkins Health System, ranked in 10 specialty areas, placing them on the Best Children's Hospitals 2019–20 Honor Roll.

Since joining the Johns Hopkins Health System in 2011, specialists at Johns Hospkins All Children’s in St. Petersburg have been collaborating with their colleagues in Baltimore on a variety of treatment and research initiatives.

In a note to all Johns Hopkins Medicine employees, Paul B. Rothman, M.D., dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Kevin W. Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine, congratulated both hospitals on their efforts.

“The pediatric care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is among the best in the nation. We want to thank the caregivers and staff members at both hospitals for their commitment to clinical excellence and patient- and family-centered care.”

Among the patients benefiting from the pediatric cancer care at John Hopkins All Children's is 15-year-old Cade.

Cade was always tired, but his parents chalked it up to stress from school and baseball tryouts for both high school and travel teams.

But when he asked his mom, Nina, one day if his stomach looked bloated, she started thinking they might be dealing with a kidney infection.

She took Cade to an emergency center near their home in Seminole, but they sent him home. She pushed harder and had the pediatrician do some additional blood work, still thinking something was going on with his kidneys. Then they got the call: "Take him to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital immediately."

Still not sure what was going on, the family arrived at the hospital to a team waiting to take him immediately to 7 South—the cancer unit.

“We had been thinking he was taking supplements for tryouts … maybe,” Nina recalled. “You don’t know, but you aren’t yet ready to accept the worst option. I was scared, but I didn’t want Cade to see that.”

Cade was scared, too.

Burkitt’s lymphoma is a fast-growing form of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“It was practically doubling in size every 24 hours,” Nina said.

At that point the lymph node near the lung was Stage 3.

“There is no doubt this is an aggressive cancer. Cade was very sick,” said Peter Shaw, M.D., deputy director of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute. “But Cade took it all in stride. He handled it with a great attitude. The two of us bonded over sports so we had some good talks.”

The Burkitt’s caused enough damage in its brief life that Cade’s kidneys were failing and he needed dialysis for a short time before he could even begin treatment for the cancer itself.

He had five rounds of chemotherapy, spending nearly six months in the hospital, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it wasn’t all bad. His baseball teammates visited him regularly and called to share details on their wins. He was even invited to appear on Fox Sports Sun at a Rays game during Cancer Survivor Day. Cade kept up with school through the Pinellas County Schools Homebound program, which brought his subjects to him.

It wasn’t easy and it helped to have other kids around him in the same situation.

These days Cade, now 17, is back to baseball—including regional quarterfinals—and heading into his senior year.

U.S. News says its methodology in tabulating the rankings takes into account measures like patient outcome, including mortality and infection rates, and also available clinical resources and compliance with best practices. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

To see the full list of best children’s hospitals via U.S. News, click here.

Karen Steinke of Johns Hopkins conducted the interview with Cade and his mother.