Texas Children's Hospital ranks 4th among nation's best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News World Report

HOUSTON - (June 10, 2014) - Texas Children's Hospital is honored to be consistently named as a national leader among pediatric hospitals by U.S. News World Report. In the 2014-15 edition of Best Children's Hospitals, Texas Children's ranked fourth among all 183 pediatric institutions surveyed nationally and is one of only 10 hospitals to achieve the Honor Roll designation. Additionally, Texas Children's is the only hospital in Texas - and the entire Southern region of the U.S. - awarded the Honor Roll distinction.

"Renowned worldwide for our expertise and breakthrough developments in clinical care and research, we are thrilled that U.S. News continually recognizes Texas Children's Hospital as one of the best children's hospitals in the country," said Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children's Hospital. "This is a testament to our organization's focus on quality and safety, as well as to the dedication our staff and employees have to our mission of leading in patient care, education and research."

In addition to ranking children's hospitals overall, U.S. News also ranks the top 50 pediatric hospitals across 10 major subspecialties. This year, Texas Children's was ranked in the top 10 for nine out of 10 categories. Receiving high rankings in a minimum of three specialties qualifies Texas Children's for the 2014-15 Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll, a distinction awarded to only 10 pediatric hospitals nationwide.

Texas Children's, working closely with academic partner Baylor College of Medicine, continues to pioneer advancements in pediatric health care and earns the Honor Roll distinction by being ranked among America's best in:

• #4 Cancer
• #2 Cardiology and heart surgery
• #8 Diabetes & endocrinology
• #5 Gastroenterology (digestive disorders)
• #2 Neonatology
• #4 Nephrology (kidney disorders)
• #6 Neurology and neurosurgery
• #34 Orthopedics
• #4 Pulmonology
• #7 Urology

"Texas Children's Hospital is home to the largest number of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists on the planet. More importantly, we have many of the world's most talented and dedicated physicians, educators, scientists, nurses and other health professionals. I am so proud of the outstanding commitment they show every single day to all of the children and families we serve. Working together, the team at Texas Children's truly is driving innovation and advancement in pediatric health care," said Dr. Mark Kline, physician-in-chief of Texas Children's Hospital and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor.

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, and reputation, among other factors. This year's methodology reflects a number of improvements, the most important of which relate to outcomes, best practices and infection prevention. The improvements better differentiate hospitals on the basis of their performance in these domains, which factored into the decision to increase the weight assigned two of them. To allow for this change, U.S. News reduced the weight assigned to hospital reputation.

"Texas Children's Department of Surgery, which performs more than 25,000 surgeries annually, is a preeminent surgical program nationally and these rankings signify the strength of both the department and hospital overall," said Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., surgeon-in-chief of Texas Children's Hospital and professor of pediatrics and chief of congenital heart surgery at Baylor. "Our high rankings demonstrate the commitment we have not only to achieving quality outcomes, but also to tracking those outcomes and using them to markedly improve the care we deliver."

The 2014-15 edition of Best Children's Hospitals is available online at usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

About Texas Children’s Hospital

Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Center for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, a second community hospital planned to open in 2017. The organization also created the nation’s first HMO for children, has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.