1 GA Medical Center Among Best Children’s Hospitals: U.S. News

GEORGIA — A pediatric medical center in Georgia is ranked among the nation’s best in U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 Best Children’s Hospital rankings released Wednesday.

The rankings highlight the top 50 centers in 10 pediatric specialties: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology and lung surgery; and urology.

For the third year, U.S. News provided expanded rankings of hospitals by both state and multi-state region. Every hospital included in the state rankings was ranked in at least two pediatric specialties.

In Georgia, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta was ranked in the state. No other Georgia hospitals made the rankings.

Here's how the hospital ranked in 10 pediatric specialties, including:

• Cancer, No. 8
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery, No. 12
• Diabetes and Endocrinology, No. 38
• Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, No. 9
• Neonatology, No. 31
• Nephrology, No. 11
• Neurology and Neurosurgery, No. 19
• Orthopedics, No. 10
• Pulmonology and Lung Surgery, No. 16
• Urology, No. 10

"Children’s is honored to be named as one of the top pediatric hospitals. Our dedicated teams go above and beyond for all patients, and we are excited to recognize the specialized care they provide,” Donna Hyland, chief executive officer of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said in a news release.

“We are committed to doing everything possible to make anything possible for kids within our hospitals each and every day. These rankings are a true testament to the level of expertise and dedication our physicians and staff provide to our patients."

The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta ranked first regionally in the southeast, alongside North Carolina’s Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center and Tennessee’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The Atlanta hospital ranked in the top 10 in these four specialized categories regionally: cancer, gastroenterology and GI surgery, orthopedics and urology.

The rankings include an Honor Roll, which includes hospitals ranked in multiple pediatric specialties. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center topped the Honor Roll for the first time, and was also the leading hospital in Ohio and the Midwest.

Rounding out the top 10 pediatric medical centers were Boston Children’s Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s National Hospital (Washington, D.C.), Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, Ohio), UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Rady Children’s Hospital (San Diego) and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center (Baltimore).

The top hospitals by pediatric specialty are:

• Cancer: Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Hospital
• Cardiology and heart surgery: Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
• Diabetes and endocrinology: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Gastroenterology and GI surgery: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
• Neonatology: Children's National Hospital, Washington, D.C.
• Nephrology: Boston Children's Hospital.
• Neurology & Neurosurgery: Boston Children's Hospital.
• Orthopedics: Boston Children's Hospital.
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery: Texas Children's Hospital.
• Urology: Boston Children's Hospital.

U.S. News said it refined its methodology this year to put less emphasis on expert opinion and more weight on measures such as commitment to best practices and equity, diversity and inclusion.

“Parents of sick children face many difficult challenges, including how to identify the best children’s hospital to treat their illness or condition,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a news release. “The rankings, which are increasingly determined by objective measures of hospital quality, can help them make informed decisions.”