by Christina Echegaray
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt was again recognized as a national leader in pediatric health care, earning the distinction as the No. 1 children’s hospital in Tennessee and sharing first place in the Southeast region, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
In the newly released 2023-2024 Best Children’s Hospital report, Monroe Carell also continued to achieve a maximum 10 out of 10 pediatric specialty programs nationally ranked. Monroe Carell is one of only 23 pediatric hospitals in the nation to rank in all 10 specialties and the only pediatric facility in Tennessee to attain this goal.
This is the third year in the regional rankings category that Monroe Carell has been recognized as No. 1 in the Southeast. The Southeast region includes 19 ranked pediatric facilities in nine states (Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina). Monroe Carell shares first place in the region with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center.
“I want to thank the Monroe Carell physicians, nurses and staff for consistently delivering the highest quality of care for our most vulnerable patients. Again, their sustained commitment to excellence led to these outstanding results,” said C. Wright Pinson, MD, MBA, MD, Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The rankings for the 10 pediatric specialties are: Cancer (42); Cardiology & Heart Surgery (30); Diabetes & Endocrinology (32); Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (30); Neonatology (22); Nephrology (44); Neurology and Neurosurgery (25); Orthopaedics (22); Pulmonology (21); and Urology (11).
“To be ranked among the nation’s best children’s hospitals for 17 consecutive years is a tremendous honor as well as a true validation of the dedication and compassion of our amazing teams at Monroe Carell,” said Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, President of Monroe Carell. “I offer my sincerest gratitude and congratulations to our teams for their commitment and caring spirit as they provide the very best in health care for the children in our community, state, region and beyond.”
The annual Best Children’s Hospitals report ranks the top 50 pediatric centers in 10 medical specialties. Scores are calculated using clinical data from nearly 200 medical centers through a detailed survey that looks at measures such as patient safety, infection prevention and adequacy of nurse staffing. In addition, part of each hospital’s score is derived from reputational surveys of board-certified pediatric specialists. In the 2023-2024 report, only 89 children’s hospitals were ranked in at least one of the pediatric specialties.
Learn more about Monroe Carell’s ranked specialties at childrenshospitalvanderbilt.org/best. The full Best Children’s Hospitals rankings can be viewed online at usnews.com/childrenshospitals.