The country's top-ranking children's hospitals, from state-of-the-art pediatric cancer centers to world-renowned transplant programs.
The Best Children’s Hospitals in America
Best Children’s Hospitals in America
When it comes to pediatric healthcare, choosing the right hospital can have an impact on the success of your child’s treatment. That’s why every year, U.S. News and World Report ranks the nation’s top children’s hospitals based on factors like patient safety and quality care. (Here’s how to find a pediatrician you trust.) Read on to find out the top 10 overall children’s hospitals for 2019-2020, plus the top three in each pediatric specialty.
10. Seattle Children’s Hospital
Seattle Children’s has landed among the top children’s hospitals for the 25-plus years that U.S. News has published its rankings. With a focus on treating the whole patient (“not just the part that hurts”), the quality care at Seattle Children’s has made it just one of five in the country to be recognized by Childkind International.
9. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore
The name Johns Hopkins has long been synonymous with some of the world’s best healthcare—and its Children’s Center, benefitting from the network’s extensive resources, is no different. Not only is it Maryland’s largest pediatric hospital but it’s also the only medical center in the state to offer a dedicated pediatric trauma service and burn center.
8. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
There are two things that take top priority at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh: patient safety and quality. The highly-trained staff of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals strive to provide top-notch care in a safe environment and they hold themselves and their treatment practices to the highest standards.
7. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
With over 1.4 million patient visits each year, Nationwide Children’s Hospital is the largest children’s hospital in the U.S. And it’s not just about quantity—it’s about quality too. That’s why Nationwide has built one of the country’s most expansive research programs focused on reimagining the future of pediatric healthcare and making sure every child access to the treatment they deserve.
6. Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
While Children’s National Medical Center ranks highly in almost every area, it’s particularly well-known for its surgery center, which is one of only 12 children’s hospitals in the country to receive the top honors from the American College of Surgeons. Additionally, it’s once again one of just seven percent of American hospitals to be named a Magnet hospital due to its exceptional nursing care.
5. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
One thing that makes the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles so unique (and so well-respected) is its family-centered care approach. The medical staff understands that families are incredibly important in the treatment process so you’ll be included and supported in every step of the journey, from diagnosis to follow-up care.
3 (tie). Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
A spot on U.S. News’ honor rolls isn’t the only recognition that Texas Children’s Hospital has received recently. It was also recognized as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and one of the “Most Wired” hospitals by Hospitals Health Network Magazine for its advanced healthcare technology. Additionally, some of its physicians have been selected as Best Doctors in America.
3 (tie). Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati Children’s is constantly striving to improve pediatric healthcare… so much so that it was dubbed one of the country’s 20 most innovative children’s hospitals by Parents magazine. All of its key medical discoveries and breakthroughs have resulted in better outcomes for its over 1.3 million annual patients.
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
When its doors opened in 1855, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia became the very first pediatric hospital in the U.S. And ever since then, it has provided some of the highest quality care to its young patients and been at the forefront of the pediatric healthcare world, making key advances in technology, research, and treatment.
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
For the sixth year in a row, Boston Children’s Hospital has earned the title of the country’s top children’s hospital thanks to national rankings in 10 different pediatric specialties including pediatric cancer and pediatric orthopedics. It’s also home to the world’s largest research program at a pediatric hospital, with over 1,100 researchers and scientists.
3. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
Pediatric Cancer
Everything really is bigger in Texas, including its Children’s Hospital, which houses one of the largest pediatric cancer and hematology centers in the U.S. With nearly 200 world-class faculty and access to a massive network of clinical trials, they diagnose over 4,000 patients per year from 56 different countries.
2. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Even if you don’t live in Tennessee, chances are you’ve heard of St. Jude’s. That’s because it’s the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center dedicated just to children. Its researchers are also currently working on the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project which aims to better understand the cause of childhood cancer based on genetic factors.
1. Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Research is the name of the game at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, which combines Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital into one powerful program. Offering about 60 clinical trials to patients at any given time, scientists and researchers at the center are constantly looking for never-before-seen ways to improve pediatric cancer treatment.
3. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery
The Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is one of only 12 programs to be awarded a three-star rating by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons thanks to its low mortality rates for cardiovascular surgery. Speaking of heart health, here are 14 things you thought cause heart disease—but actually don’t.
2. Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
With doctors, nurses, and surgeons trained in all different specialties, the Heart Center at Lurie Children’s offers a wide range of services from fetal cardiology to heart transplants, so patients can get all of the care they need in one place. They also have a program specifically dedicated to helping prevent heart disease in kids and teens who are at higher risk due to genetic factors.
1. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
The experts at Texas Children’s Heart Center see over 23,000 patients a year and are especially skilled at treating congenital heart disease and defects. To help their young patients understand what cardiovascular disease is (and how to treat or prevent it), the center has even created an animated video series featuring adorable talking animals that explain the child’s diagnosis.
3. Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology
If there’s one thing that the Diabetes Program at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital does best, it’s research. They’re always either leading or participating in the latest clinical trials focused on both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in hopes of improving prevention and treatment for their own pediatric patients. If you think your child may have diabetes, keep an eye out for these commonly-missed symptoms.
2. Boston Children’s Hospital
At the Diabetes Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, your child doesn’t get just one doctor, they get a whole team. This collaborative approach means you’ll work with a variety of specialists from pediatric endocrinology specialists to dietitians so you can rest easy knowing that your child is receiving some of the most comprehensive care.
1. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
A big part of having a child with diabetes is knowing how to manage it. That’s why the Diabetes Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is so focused on providing a wealth of educational resources for both patients and their families. There are online self-management classes, support groups, and even diabetes camps for kids to attend.
3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Pediatric Gastroenterology & GI Surgery
Like every good hospital, the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s provides comprehensive care to its patients. But it also has four specialty centers that are consistently ranked among some of the best worldwide: the Liver Center, the Pancreas Care Center, the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, and the Neurogastroenterology and Motility Disorders Center.
2. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
No matter what digestive disorder your child has, the Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition team at Texas Children’s Hospital is there to help. With 14 specialty programs (including celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease) and nearly 30,000 annual patients, it’s one of the largest centers of its kind in the country and even has a 90 percent three-year survival rate for transplants.
1. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Your child will be in good hands at Kohl’s GI Nutrition and Diagnostic Center, the state-of-the-art endoscopy suite at Children’s that uses advanced technology for both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. And the gastroenterologists, anesthesiologists and nurses there understand that parents are equally important in a child’s healthcare so you’ll always be included every step of the way.
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Neonatology
The impact of CHOP’s top-rated Division of Neonatology spreads much further than the walls of its state-of-the-art NICU. That’s because the expert neonatologists and newborn care teams travel to other regional hospitals that are part of the CHOP network so you can have access to some of the best treatment no matter where you live.
2. Boston Children’s Hospital
The Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children’s specializes in extremely premature babies (up to 23 weeks), offering a unique Infant Follow-up Program through which a treatment team will care for your child until they’re three to four years old. The department is also the academic center for the Harvard Program in Neonatology, home to some of the latest research in the field.
1. Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
It’s not the first, but the third, time that Children’s has earned the top spot on U.S. News’ rankings for neonatology. That may largely be due to the fact that it boasts a Level IV NICU, meaning that it provides the highest level of care to its patients, or the fact that it has the largest extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program to help critically ill babies breathe.
3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Pediatric Nephrology
If your child is in need of a kidney transplant, the nephrology program at Cincinnati Children’s is the place to go. There, they are dedicated to not only performing transplants with incredible success rates but also making sure that you and your child feel supported throughout the entire process. Bonus: Team Kidney has even shortened the waiting list period from 150 to 60 days.
2. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
One of the specialties of the Renal Service at Texas Children’s is its renal replacement therapy program, which is one of the best in the U.S and one of the only to provide MARS therapy to kids with liver failure. Additionally, it offers numerous specialty services like the Lupus Clinic, Kidney Stone Clinic, and Hypertension Clinic.
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
With 19 clinical research projects, 11 attending pediatric nephrologists, and four specialty renal programs, Boston Children’s has the largest pediatric nephrology division in the country. One of their latest initiatives? Rethinking the organ waiting list requirements so that now patients under the age of 18 get priority for new kidneys.
3. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
Pediatric Neurology & Neurosurgery
With over 130 highly-trained medical professionals on staff at Texas Children’s Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience department, it provides treatment services for a variety of neurological conditions from the super common to the super rare. And its dedicated research team at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute is constantly working to improve care for children with neurological disorders.
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Whether it’s epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, or a nerve disorder, the neurologists at the world-renowned Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have the advanced knowledge and training necessary to treat it, seeing over 25,000 patients each year. They also offer different support groups for both patients and their families.
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
It all began in 1923 when Boston Children’s became the first hospital in the U.S. to have a neurology program dedicated solely to children. Today, it’s grown to offer holistic comprehensive care through nearly 40 specialized services, including the nation’s first pediatric sleep center and first pediatric neurocritical care program.
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Pediatric Orthopedics
The main goal of the Division of Orthopaedics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is best summed up in one sentence on its website: “To provide cutting-edge care so that your child can get back to being a kid.” That’s exactly what you’ll receive at any of its eight locations, where multidisciplinary specialists are trained to treat almost any orthopedic diagnosis imaginable.
2. Children’s Medical Center Dallas-Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
Staffed by some of the world’s top orthopedic specialists, Scottish Rite Hospital consists of six specialized Centers of Excellence: scoliosis and spine, limb lengthening, hand disorders, clubfoot and foot disorders, hip disorders, and sports medicine. A.k.a they know what they’re doing when it comes to bones and they do it well.
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
The doctors at Boston Children’s Orthopedic Center don’t just treat broken ankles or scoliosis—they treat the whole patient using a collaborative approach. That means that your child will meet with a team of specialists who evaluate both the physical and psychological effects of the condition so that your child can be healed faster and more effectively.
3. Boston Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Pulmonology & Lung Surgery
The specialists at Boston Children’s Division of Pulmonary and Respiratory Diseases want you to know that you’re never alone, and that, as its website states, “help is just a phone call away.” Literally. They offer a phone line for patients to call anytime and there are always at least two physicians on call 24/7 to assist if your child is in crisis.
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is proud of its robust research program which works endlessly to better understand pulmonary disorders and lung disease among children through cutting-edge clinical trials. This research leads to more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatment of its pediatric patients.
1. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
Not only does the pulmonary medicine department at Texas Children’s have 11 specialty programs (including the Cystic Fibrosis Center and Asthma Center) but it also has one of the largest pediatric lung transplant programs in the U.S. And the division is as good at diagnosing disorders as they are at treating them, thanks to the dedicated Pulmonary Diagnostic Lab.
3. Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Indianapolis
Pediatric Urology
Partnering with the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Pediatric Urology department at Riley at IU Health is dedicated to finding new ways to improve urology care for kids. What does that mean for your child in particular? That they’ll likely be able to participate in some of the most cutting-edge clinical trials with the latest treatment practices.
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
One thing that the Division of Urology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia does better than most other hospitals in the world? Minimally invasive surgery. That means they’re particularly good at performing surgeries that, according to their website, use “small incisions no larger than a grain of rice.” Aka your child can recover faster and undergo less stress. Win-win.
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
The Department of Urology team at Boston Children’s Hospital is the largest pediatric urology department in the world. And yes, they can treat common conditions like bedwetting or urinary tract infections, but what they’re really good at is figuring out the more complex and often more serious conditions like spina bifida and sexual differentiation.
Next, read the 47 secrets hospitals don’t want to tell you.
