Saint Peter's Children's Hospital Top In Nation For Neonatal Care

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as having one of the top 50 neonatology departments in the nation.

The 2019-20 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings were published this week. Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital is the only New Jersey-based hospital to be recognized in the top 50 in this category. Saint Peter's Children's ranked 34th out of the top 50 neonatal departments in the entire United States.

Saint Peter's main competitor, Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, was also named of the nation's best children's hospitals in the ranking. Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's ranked as one of the top children's hospitals in urology (#38).

The 13th annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings recognize the top 50 pediatric facilities across the U.S. 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.

“We are truly honored to be among the best healthcare facilities nationwide for neonatology,” said Bipin Patel, MD, FAAP, chairman of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief at The Children's Hospital at Saint Peter's University Hospital. “While no parent wants to think about having a child in the neonatal intensive care unit, we are often the destination for such specialty cases in the region. Our Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides advanced technologies and treatment programs that translate to the best possible outcomes, but it is our team of specially-trained physicians, nurses and support staff that truly make the difference in patient satisfaction.”

“We are so proud of the work we do here at Saint Peter's," says Mark Hiatt, MD, director of Saint Peter’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and chief of the Division of Neonatal Medicine at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. “As a level three unit, we take care of babies with any kind of medical or surgical problem. Not only do we have the most sophisticated and modern technology, we have expert staff that provide the extraordinary and compassionate care for which we are renown.”

U.S. News introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. The rankings are the most comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals.

They look at patient outcomes, such as mortality and infection rates, as well as available clinical resources and compliance with best practices.