Hospital Ranked Among Top-10 by U.S. News & World Report

Hospital is also ranked among the best in the nation in six specialty areas

Our hospital has been ranked 9th among 143 children’s hospitals and medical centers in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report magazine’s “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” in its June 9, 2008 issue.
 
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been ranked among the nation’s best hospitals since the inception of the magazine’s rankings in 1990.

Specialty Care Rankings

In addition to the top-10 ranking for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, six of the specialty areas were rated among the nation’s best:

• Cancer 
• Heart & Heart Surgery
• Respiratory Disorders
• Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Neonatal Care
• Digestive Disorders

“While we are pleased that we continue to be recognized as one of the top pediatric facilities in the United States in this survey, our priority will continue to be providing the very best medical and surgical care to the sickest, most seriously ill children, teaching the next generation of pediatricians, pediatric surgeons and pediatric nurses and conducting the research that will lead to new treatments and cures for diseases and conditions that afflict our children, like cancer, congenital heart defects, diabetes, sickle cell disease, immune deficiencies, respiratory disorders and more,” shares CEO Richard D. Cordova, FACHE.  “We understand the enormous responsibility we have to the children and families we serve and to children everywhere.”

About the Rankings

U.S. News & World Report invited 143 hospitals to complete its survey to be considered for ranking.  One hundred and thirteen chose to do so.  The basis for the rankings is a blend of:

• Reputation
• Outcomes (where available)
• Care-related measures (e.g., patient volume, nursing and credentialing)

Reputation
The magazine’s editors surveyed 1,100 pediatricians by mail and asked them to name up to five centers they believe to be most successful with difficult cases in their specialty.  The pediatricians were chosen at random from the American Board of Medical Specialties’ database – 200 for general pediatrics and 150 for each of the six specialties.  Depending on the specialty, reputation counted for 50-60% of the final score.

Outcomes
Inpatient death rate was used in heart/heart surgery and in neurology/neurosurgery.  That measure was not used for specialties that focus on outpatients – cancer, digestive disorders and respiratory disorders.  The editors said that measures for neonatal are in progress.  Where available, outcomes counted for 10% of the score.

Care-Related Measures
The editors used nurse staffing, the availability of important technologies and patient volume.  These measures counted for 40% of the hospital’s score.

How we Rank Among Our Peers

Three other children’s hospitals in California were ranked in the new survey:

• Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford (12th)
• Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA (16th)
• University of California, San Francisco Children’s Hospital (20th)