For the 10th year, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has received the honor of being named among the nation’s leaders in pediatric health care by U.S. News & World Report in their annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. The rankings were released online today.
Again this year, Children’s Hospital achieved a maximum of 10 out of 10 nationally ranked pediatric specialty programs, and continues to be the only pediatric hospital in Tennessee to receive this distinction.
“While the U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals rankings are one of several important benchmarks we are measured against each year, they offer further affirmation of the extensive talent and caring nature of the outstanding people with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. In addition to continuing to have all 10 out of 10 possible programs nationally ranked, we now have a majority of these specialties ranked in the nation’s top 20. I want to congratulate everyone for this significant accomplishment,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., Deputy CEO and Chief Clinical Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and CEO for the Vanderbilt Health System. “This again makes clear the very best children’s hospital care in Tennessee is found at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.”
The 2016-2017 Best Children’s Hospital report ranks the top 50 pediatric centers in 10 medical specialties. Scores are calculated using clinical operational data related to level and quality of hospital resources, delivery of health care, best practices and clinical outcomes, as well as results from a reputational survey of board-certified pediatric specialists. Seventy-eight of the 183 surveyed hospitals were ranked in one or more specialties. Children’s Hospital has ranked every year since the pediatric rankings inception in 2007.
“We are extremely pleased that Children’s Hospital once again holds the distinction of being ranked in 10 out of 10 specialties, and for more than half of those specialties to be among the top 20 in the nation is exceptional,” said Luke Gregory, chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital. “Our rankings are reflective of the hard work, dedication and passion that our faculty, nurses and staff display every day they come to work to care for the nearly 1,400 children and families who enter our facility each day. I want to thank everyone who works here and with us, including our many community pediatricians and partners, for making Children’s Hospital a truly special place, and a place of unwavering hope for children and families.”
Children’s Hospital’s Division of Pediatric Urology has earned top accolades year after year, ranking in the No. 4 spot this year as a leader in specialized urologic care for children. The division has been consistently ranked in the top 10 since U.S. News & World Report began ranking the pediatric urology specialty in 2009.
“I cannot say enough about how proud I am of our entire team for continuing to be distinguished as a world-class leader and destination program for families desiring the best in pediatric urology for their children,” said John W. Brock III, M.D., director of Pediatric Urology, surgeon-in-chief and Monroe Carell Jr. Professor. “It requires a true team approach— from the staff families meet at check-in, to the clinic and OR nurses, to the physicians and beyond—to provide the absolute very best.”
“I am honored to serve in many roles across Children’s Hospital, and I am in awe of the dedication, passion and commitment to care, research and education that I see the men and women who work here exemplify on a daily basis, because that’s what our families deserve—the best,” added Brock, who is also senior vice president of Pediatric Surgical Services.
Among the other pediatric specialties, six others moved up in the rankings. Cancer improved from 30th to 18th; Gastroenterology & GI Surgery moved up from 32nd to 22nd; Nephrology improved from 42nd to 30th; Neurology & Neurosurgery moved from 15th to 12th; Cardiology & Heart Surgery went from 20th to 19th; and Neonatology moved up from 27th to 26th. Other specialties ranked this year: Orthopaedics (14); Pulmonology (17); Diabetes & Endocrinology (25).
“Because of the teamwork across all our specialties and institution as well as our dedication to our mission areas — research, clinical care and education — we continue to achieve increasing national recognition as a leader in quality, specialized pediatric health care,” said Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, pediatrician-in-chief and James C. Overall Professor. “The rankings speak volumes to all we have accomplished and strive to provide for all our patients. We are honored to be considered among the nation’s best.”
The Pediatric Hematology/Oncology program has continued to see gains in the rankings over the last few years, ranking 18th this year.
“We are very proud of our U.S. News & World Report ranking as the No.18 pediatric hematology/oncology program in the nation,” said Debra Freidman, M.D., director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and E. Bronson Ingram Professor of Pediatric Oncology. “This reflects our amazing multidisciplinary hematology/oncology team that works collaboratively with pediatric and surgical subspecialists to provide comprehensive care to our patients and families. As the only pediatric hematology/oncology program in the state that is part of a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center that treats children and adults, we are proud to conduct research to advance the field and provide access to the cutting edge state-of-the-art treatment for cancer and blood disorders to children, adolescents and young adults.”
Children’s Hospital will continue to build on the successes and achievements of faculty and staff to provide quality comprehensive care with the forthcoming four-floor expansion atop the existing hospital structure.
“I am so very proud of our programs and their incredible efforts this past year. Our faculty and staff have worked in a highly collaborative way to strive for excellence and in the process achieve specific outcomes that are important in the ranking process,” said Meg Rush, M.D., MMHC, chief of staff and executive medical director of Children’s Hospital.
“These efforts are naturally rolled into our ongoing quality improvement initiatives across the departments and hospital. To have all 10 programs again ranked, to have six in the top 20 and to have all programs move up in ranking, including Pediatric Urology, shows that this work makes a difference. Not only are we being recognized as a ‘best in practice’ children’s hospital but more importantly we are improving how we serve and care for our patients and families. It is a true privilege to support the work these programs do every day,” Rush added.
This year’s full rankings, which include information infection rates, adequacy of staff, procedure volumes and more from the 183 hospitals, are available online at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings.