These Are MA's Best Children's Hospitals: U.S. News

U.S. News & World Report says two hospitals for children in Massachusetts are among the best in the country when it comes to numerous pediatric specialties. The news organization released its 12th annual “Best Children’s Hospitals” rankings Tuesday.

The rankings looked at 10 pediatric specialties: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgerys; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology. In Massachusetts, Boston Children's Hospital and MassGeneral Hospital for Children, both in Boston, made the list.

Here’s how they each ranked:

Boston Children's Hospital

• Total specialties ranked: 10
• Cancer: 3
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery: 2
• Diabetes & Endocrinology: 2
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery: 2
• Neonatology: 3
• Nephrology: 1
• Neurology & Neurosurgery: 1
• Orthopedics: 1
• Pulmonology: 4
• Urology: 3

Boston Children's Hospital was the Honor Roll's top-ranked hospital in the country.

MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston

• Total specialties ranked: 4
• Diabetes & Endocrinology: 24
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery: 29
• Pulmonology: 45
• Urology: 46

Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News, told Patch the rankings are designed with parents and young patients in mind. Families can make better decisions by having access to what the authors called the “most comprehensive data” available in addition to their doctors’ advice.

“There are hundreds if not thousands of hospitals in the country that take care of kids from time to time,” Harder said. “But there are only a couple hundred that really specialize in taking care of sick kids.”

These rankings are intended to aid families with young patients suffering from “particularly challenging” medical diagnoses and who need an “extra level of care,” he said. “This includes pediatric cancer, a heart defect, a complicated fracture or a birth defect. The rankings highlight which hospital has the best experience, capabilities, teams and track records in achieving “good outcomes” for young patients.

Most families do not need a top hospital most of the time, he said.

“There are hundreds of hospitals that can treat run-of-the-mill stuff like a sprained ankle or managing asthma,” said Harder.

Ten hospitals earned a place on the U.S. News report’s so-called “Honor Roll,” which recognizes pediatric centers that provide “exceptionally high-quality care” across multiple specialties. Boston Children’s Hospital topped that list again, ranking first overall in three different specialties: neurology and neurosurgery, nephrology and orthopedics.

Honor Roll

1. Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts
2. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4. Texas Children’s Hospital, Texas
5. Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
6. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, California
7. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio
8. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Maryland
9. Children's Hospital Colorado, Colorado
10. Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Illinois

In developing the rankings, the authors looked at measures such as patient outcomes, including rates of death and infection, as well as available clinical resources and compliance with best practices.

Click here to read the full methodology.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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