Boston Children’s Hospital Ranked Second in the U.S.

Boston Children’s Hospital exterior photo via Flickr/Gary Lerude

U.S. News and World Report‘s annual children’s hospital rankings were released this week and Boston’s Children’s Hospital ranks first in more specialties than any other pediatric hospital in the country. The hospital’s overall ranking is No. 2 (Boston Children’s was just barely beaten out of the top spot by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). Boston Children’s took top honors in seven of 10 categories: Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Neonatology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, and Urology. The hospital partners with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to operate the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, which placed second in the Cancer category.

“We’re honored to have Boston Children’s ranked first in the majority of the following specialties evaluated – it recognizes the depth and breadth of the clinical excellence provided by our extraordinary team of clinicians,” says Dr. James Mandell, CEO of Boston Children’s, in a press release.

According to U.S. News & World Report, three-quarters of each hospital’s score was determined through an analysis of patient outcomes and data on the resources that each hospital has specifically for pediatric care. Two surveys were used to collect data: a clinical questionnaire sent to 179 pediatric hospitals, and a survey of 150 pediatric specialists and subspecialists in each category. This is done to get an assessment of the hospital’s reputation among physicians.

Doctors were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty, if location and expense were not a factor. But, U.S. News assures us that each hospital’s reputation among doctors was only a small part of what was factored into its rankings. If you think about it, asking a doctor where they would send their children is actually a really good measure of how great a hospital is. We are proud to have Boston’s Children’s Hospital right here in our backyard.

“The rankings reflect a collective effort by our caregivers, researchers, staff and volunteers across Boston Children’s community of care network,” says Sandra Fenwick, President and COO of Boston Children’s, in the release. “We’re honored by the recognition, but see it as an opportunity to continue innovating and improving the care given to every family we serve.”