Northeast Ohio has three of the best hospitals to care for kids, according to the latest national rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report.
Akron Children’s Hospital ranks in the top 50 nationwide in seven of 10 specialties in the seventh annual Best Children’s Hospitals report.
Akron’s pediatric hospital is joined on the list by Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
The recognition “is certainly nice to have,” said Shawn Lyden, the hospital’s executive vice president. “I think the U.S. News rankings have been around long enough from a consumer’s standpoint that it’s viewed as a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.”
Akron Children’s rankings include 22nd in orthopedics; 26th in cancer; 28th in neurology and neuroscience; 29th in pulmonology; 31st in urology; 32nd in diabetes and endocrinology; and 37th in nephrology (kidney care).
The hospital has made an effort in recent years to become “super-subspecialized” in orthopedics, said Dr. Kerwyn Jones, chair of the Department of Orthopedics.
Rather than treating all orthopedic problems, each doctor focuses on a specific area, such as spine surgery, hip reconstruction, ACL tears and other bone and muscle issues.
“It’s just more specialized, more specific, higher-quality care,” he said. “And we’ve gotten a reputation for that.”
Rainbow, part of University Hospitals, earned the highest recognition of any Northeast Ohio pediatric hospital: second in neonatology. The Cleveland hospital has been recognized for six consecutive years as among the top five hospitals for newborn care.
The hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit has a 96 percent survival rate, one of the best in the nation for premature and critically ill newborns, according to Rainbow.
One of Rainbow’s keys to success is its high level of parental involvement, said Dr. Michele Walsh, Rainbow’s division chief of neonatology. It also has access to cutting-edge research and treatments as one of 18 centers in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s neonatal research network.
“You don’t have to travel across the country” for top-level care, she said.
Rainbow’s other rankings are seventh in pulmonology; 13th in diabetes and endocrinology; 13th in neurology and neurosurgery; 14th in orthopedics; 18th in cancer; 29th in nephrology; 46th in gastroenterology and GI surgery; and 46th in urology.
The Cleveland Clinic is recognized in seven categories: eighth in neurology and neurosurgery; 10th in gastroenterology and GI surgery; 21st in urology; 23rd in cancer; 29th in cardiology and heart; 29th in pulmonology; and 48th in diabetes and endocrinology.
U.S. News surveyed 179 pediatric hospitals nationwide for the report. Hospitals were recognized based on reputation, as well as death rates and care-related factors, including volume, nursing care and ability to prevent infections.
Consumer interest
Hospitals often use their rankings as a marketing tool.
“It’s certainly nice to have that logo on our marketing materials and our websites,” Children’s Lyden said. “I think today’s health-care consumers are way more involved than they were five years ago. Part of it is based on the amount of information that’s now available to them. The other part of it is now with HSA [health savings accounts] and high-deductible health plans, consumers have more skin in the game. When they’re paying part of the bill, I think they look more closely where they get that care.”
The top-ranked pediatric hospital in the nation is Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
This year’s report also includes the news magazine’s listing of America’s 50 healthiest counties for kids. The only Ohio county to make the healthiest counties list is Delaware, which is ranked 38th.
The complete Best Children’s Hospitals listing is available online at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals. Rankings for adult hospitals are released separately.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.