Texas Children’s Hospital again ranks among the best children’s hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report

Texas Children’s Heart Center and Pulmonology rank 1^st nationwide

HOUSTON – (June 26, 2018) – Texas Children’s Hospital is proud to consistently be recognized as a leader in pediatric care, ranking fourth among the nearly 200 pediatric centers surveyed by U.S. News & World Report in their 2018-19 edition of Best Children’s Hospitals. Over the last decade, no other pediatric hospital in the state has ever achieved an overall ranking as high as Texas Children’s. Additionally, according to the survey results, Texas Children’s ranks as the best place in the country for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, as well as pulmonology. For more information, visittexaschildrens.org/usnews.

“Our patients, families, employees, and community were tested this year when Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area, yet through it all we demonstrated undeniable resolve, determination and courage,” says Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s. “Each year, our Texas Children’s team exhibits incredible strength and kindness, as well as passion, caring for the inspirational children and families we serve. I believe this is one reason why we continue to maintain the respect and reputation as one of the best hospitals in the nation, and the destination for pediatric care in Texas.”

Highly ranked in many subspecialties

In addition to ranking pediatric hospitals overall, U.S. News also ranks the top 50 pediatric hospitals across 10 major subspecialties each year. Texas Children’s is one of only 10 children’s hospitals across the country to achieve the Honor Roll designation, and the only hospital in Texas – and the southern U.S. – awarded this distinction.

This year, Texas Children’s Heart Center^® ranks as the best place in the country for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery and Texas Children’s pulmonary ranks as the best program for children with lung diseases. In addition, the hospital has six subspecialties ranked in the top five.

With the partnership of academic affiliate Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s continues to be a preeminent resource for health and hope to all children and their families, and earns the U.S. News Honor Roll distinction by ranking as one of America’s best in, among other subspecialties:

• #1 Cardiology and heart surgery
• #1 Pulmonology
• #3 Nephrology (kidney disorders)
• #3 Neurology and neurosurgery
• #4 Gastroenterology and GI surgery
• #4 Urology
• #6 Cancer
• #6 Diabetes and endocrinology

National leader in pediatric heart care

For more than half a century, the integrated, multidisciplinary team at Texas Children’s Heart Center has combined cutting-edge technology with a compassionate and family-centered approach to care. Annually, nearly 1,000 surgeries are performed and more than 28,000 patient encounters occur in the outpatient clinic.

“The Texas Children’s Heart Center team displays an unparalleled commitment to our patients each and every day through the exemplary care we provide from diagnosis through treatment and follow-up,” says Dr. Daniel J. Penny, chief of pediatric cardiology at Texas Children’s and professor of pediatrics at Baylor. “We are honored to once again be recognized as the best place for children with heart diseases to receive care.”

Texas Children’s Heart Center cardiologists, congenital heart surgeons, cardiac anesthetists and cardiac intensivists are world-renowned leaders in the field, and strive to offer every procedure available for the treatment of pediatric heart diseases and defects for children of all ages, including preterm and low-birth-weight newborns. Some of the services offered by the Heart Center include cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, diagnostic and cardiac imaging, adult congenital heart disease treatment, congenital heart surgery, cardiac nursing, cardiac critical care (cardiovascular intensive care unit) and heart transplantation.

The destination for children with lung disease

Offering services to treat children dealing with any breathing problem, the team at Texas Children’s is involved in managing a wide range of common and rare pulmonary disorders, and offers specialty clinics focused on severe asthma, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, tracheostomy and ventilator issues, aerodigestive multispecialty clinics, sleep disorders, and more.

“At Texas Children’s, we built our program to serve the needs of children with all types of lung disease, from common ailments to the most complex, and we have become the best program for children in need of pulmonary care,” says Dr. Peter Hiatt, chief of pulmonary medicine at Texas Children’s and associate professor at Baylor. “Our unrelenting commitment to providing life-changing and life-saving treatments to children is what motivates us every day and we are the hospital of last resort for many children, some of whom were turned away by other programs.”

Texas Children’s pulmonary team offers a wide array of specialized programs. Texas Children’s Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Care Center is the only accredited pediatric CF center in Southeast Texas. Its Pulmonary Hypertension Program is one of the few programs in the U.S. dedicated to treating children; because of this, Texas Children’s has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of infants, children and teens with this rare condition. In addition, Texas Children’s has one of the largest and most successful pediatric lung transplant programs in the world and is one of only two institutions worldwide that performs an average of 10 pediatric lung transplants each year. With a typical wait time of four to six months for new lungs, Texas Children’s has transplanted children from all areas of the United States. As a result of these programs and others, Texas Children’s is also one of the largest training programs of future pediatric lung specialists.

U.S. News ranking methodology

These rankings are the result of a methodology that weighs a combination of outcome and care-related measures such as nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing, outcomes, best practices, infection prevention, and reputation, among other factors.

The 2018-19 edition of Best Children’s Hospitals is available online atusnews.com/childrenshospitals.