June 14, 2022

In yet another monumental achievement made possible through the hard work of our One Amazing Team and your commitment to every child and family we serve, Texas Children’s has earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report as the #2 children’s hospital in the country.

In addition to Texas Children’s historic rise to #2 in the overall list, the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital survey included Top 10 spots for every subspecialty:

  • #1 in Cardiology & Heart Surgery, in a testament to the cutting-edge treatments and family-centered care provided by the Heart Center for more than 60 years
  • #1 in Pulmonology
  • #2 in Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • #3 in Nephrology (kidney disorders)
  • #3 in Neonatology
  • #4 in Cancer
  • #4 in Gastroenterology & GI Surgery
  • #5 in Diabetes & Endocrinology
  • #5 in Urology
  • #8 in Orthopedics

Texas Children’s is also ranked as the #1 children’s hospital in Texas and #1 in the Southwest Region – rounding out the national honors in what President and CEO Mark A. Wallace called a “pivotal moment that reflected everything we’ve accomplished together this year.”

“These tremendous outcomes are the result of the steadfast leadership, unwavering dedication and sincere passion you have for Texas Children’s mission,” Wallace wrote in announcing the exciting news to the organization. “Our eight in-chiefs, our five executive vice presidents, our medical and administrative leaders, and our faculty and staff are without a doubt the greatest teams in our organization’s history.”

Reaching the top of the list

U.S. News & World Report introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals ranking in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. The rankings are the most comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals.

They rely on clinical data from nearly 200 medical centers through a detailed survey that analyzes measures, such as patient safety, infection prevention and adequacy of nurse staffing. In addition, each hospital’s score is derived from surveys of more than 15,000 pediatric specialists who are asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty.

In 2021, only 89 children’s hospitals were ranked in at least one of the 10 pediatric specialties evaluated for the annual report. Ten hospitals ranked at the top of their class and were named to the 2022-2023 Honor Roll. For more information, visit usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

“Consistent collaboration, newfound discoveries and extraordinary patient care is what has brought us to where we are today. But we all know that for Texas Children’s, this is only the beginning of our bright future ahead,” Wallace said. “Let’s cherish and celebrate this moment – and then let’s gear up to climb even higher. I have no doubt that with this team, everything is possible!”

To read the full news release announcing Texas Children’s latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report, click here.

August 26, 2019

When the results of the 2019 U.S. News & World Report survey of Best Children’s Hospitals poured in on June 18, Nephrology patiently waited to find out if they would again be named among the best in the nation.

For the first time, Texas Children’s is ranked in the top 10 in each of the U.S. News & World Report-recognized pediatric sub-specialties. Nephrology, moved up a spot from last year, ranking No. 2.

“We were all very pleased,” Chief of Renal Services Dr. Michael Braun said. “The entire multidisciplinary team has a tremendous focus on making sure we deliver the best and safest care possible, and so seeing that reflected in our U.S. News & World Report rankings is wonderful.”

The U.S. News rankings uses an approach that analyzes quality of health care and patient outcomes data from thousands of medical institutions across the country. This includes measuring specialized clinics and programs, external accreditations and compliance with best practices. Improved rankings determine a health care organization’s commitment to not only providing high-quality care, but also to identifying gaps where improvements are needed.

“We are excited because it validates what we already know about the program,” Renal Programs Manager Helen Currier said. “Our goals haven’t changed, and we are going to continue to provide outstanding care to patients with kidney disease in a safe and family-centered context.”

Big wins for patients and families

This past year, Nephrology exceeded their yearly goals and executed additional initiatives to increase transparency, reduce risk of infection, and improve the quality of care.

  • Significant decrease in hemodialysis catheter associated blood stream infections (BSI)

Hemodialysis catheter associated BSIs are complications that can result in hospitalization and possibly death. Minimum standards are set by the federal government, as a result metrics are analyzed monthly to identify improvements at a system level. Minimizing these infections is an example of our commitment to providing the best possible care for our hemodialysis patients.

The Standardized Care to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric End-stage Renal Disease (SCOPE) collaborative focuses on infections prevention in pediatric peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients using large-scale collaboration to identify and spread effective interventions across pediatric care settings. Adopting and following SCOPE played a large role in this big win as well.

  • Increased number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) Psychologist/Psychiatrist dedicated to the care of pediatric maintenance dialysis patients in Pediatric Nephrology Program

FTEs are licensed, doctoral psychologists or psychiatrists who work more than 30 hours per week. The burden of illness is the highest among all pediatric chronic illnesses, Texas Children’s Hospital has led the nation as a proponent of integrated mental health support to patients, and families with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

  • GRAFT Survival rate of 1 year kidney transplant

Graft survival is an estimate of the probability of the transplant functioning at a finite time after transplantation. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, outcomes after pediatric kidney transplantation in the United States have improved over time, independent of changes in recipient, donor, and transplant characteristics.

Not only is the first year that Texas Children’s Hospital leads the nation in the number of pediatric kidney transplants, but we also celebrated the 500th kidney transplant done at Texas Children’s Hospital. This is not only reflected in our U.S. News ranking, but has been a major impact on the well-being of our patients. Texas Children’s transplant team as a whole goes above and beyond to provide high quality care to our patients. Last year, they received a glowing review from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recertification evaluation team. More specifically, the fantastic work that the kidney transplant team has done is reflected in this esteemed honor in the U.S. News & World Report survey.

  • Improvement in Children under 5 years of age receiving hemodialysis

Dr. Braun attributes this improvement in outcomes in large part to the impressive work of Dr. Michael Belfort and the Fetal Center in developing an outstanding maternal fetal medicine program. Texas Children’s Fetal Center is one of the nation’s leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of abnormalities in unborn and newborn infants, allowing us the ability to care for a child even before birth which directly impacts their quality of care later in life.

Click here to learn more about our Kidney (Renal) department at Texas Children’s Hospital.

June 18, 2019

The results of the 2019 U.S. News & World Report survey of Best Children’s Hospitals are in, and Texas Children’s Hospital is again among the best in the nation!

This year, Texas Children’s tied for third place among all children’s hospitals nationally, a ranking no other pediatric hospital in the state has ever achieved.

In addition, for the first time, Texas Children’s is ranked in the top 10 in each of the U.S. News & World Report-recognized pediatric sub-specialties. Six of our sub-specialties were ranked in the top 3 – two are ranked #1, two are ranked #2, and another two are ranked #3.

“We should all be very proud of this remarkable accomplishment,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace. “It is because of our One Amazing Team and each team member’s steadfast commitment to quality and excellence that we were able to reach this achievement. Thank you for your dedication to Texas Children’s Hospital and to the patients and families we serve.”

Some highlights of the 13th annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings for Texas Children’s include:

  • Cardiology and Congenital Heart Surgery is again ranked #1 in the nation, due in part to our increasing the number of RNs in the PICU with more than two years of experience, and exceeding thresholds in four-year combined risk-adjusted operative mortality.
  • Pulmonology, which first debuted in the top spot in the 2016 rankings, is again ranked #1 in the nation. We decreased the percentage of patients readmitted to the hospital to address asthma-related symptoms, and exceeded thresholds in structure metrics, such as mean LOS for asthma patients.
  • Nephrology moved up a spot and is now ranked #2 in the nation, with a significant decrease in hemodialysis catheter associated BSI and an improvement in children younger than 5 years of age receiving hemodialysis.
  • Gastroenterology & GI surgery rose to #2 in the nation from #4, achieving successful Kasai procedures in biliary atresia patients and improving the percentage of patients experiencing prednisone-free admission.
  • Cancer is #3 in the nation, up from #6. We increased the five-year survival of patients with neuroblastoma and increased the percentage of patients who received intravenous treatment antibiotics within an hour of triage.
  • Neurology and Neurosurgery remained at #3 in the nation, showing a significant improvement in 30-day unplanned return to the operating room for craniotomy and a decrease in readmission within 30 days of surgery for Chiari decompression patients.

Our entire list of rankings includes:

#1 Cardiology and Congenital Heart Surgery
#1 Pulmonology
#2 Gastroenterology and GI surgery
#2 Nephrology
#3 Neurology and Neurosurgery
#3 Cancer
#6 Urology
#7 (tie) Neonatology
#8 Diabetes and Endocrinology
#10 Orthopedics

Overall, Texas Children’s exceeded nursing intensity thresholds, made significant improvement in ICU CLABSI rates and exceeded thresholds for hospital acquired pressure injuries.

U.S. News & World Report introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. The rankings are the most comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals.

The U.S. News Best Children’s Hospitals rankings rely on clinical data and on an annual survey of pediatric specialists. The rankings methodology factors in patient outcomes, such as mortality and infection rates, as well as available clinical resources and compliance with best practices.

“The results also reflect the efforts of our team and their unwavering focus on the U.S. News survey,” Wallace said. “Compiling and refining our data is a continuous process and, with the support of our medical staff, in-chiefs, service chiefs, as well as Mark Mullarkey, Trudy Leidich, Elizabeth Pham and the entire Quality team, we have made significant strides this past year.”

This year’s rankings will be published in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2020” guidebook, available in stores mid-September or online at usnews.com/childrenshospitals. You can learn more about Texas Children’s rankings here.

June 26, 2018

Texas Children’s Hospital has once again been named as a national leader among pediatric institutions by U.S. News & World Report in their recently published 2018-19 edition of Best Children’s Hospitals.

Ranked fourth among all children’s hospitals nationally and one of only 10 hospitals to achieve the Honor Roll designation for the tenth straight year, Texas Children’s is the only hospital in Texas – and the entire Southern region of the U.S. – awarded this coveted distinction.

“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,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace. “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.”

In addition to ranking children’s hospitals overall, U.S. News & World Report also ranks the top 50 pediatric hospitals in 10 major sub-specialty areas. To be considered for the honor roll distinction, a hospital must have high rankings in at least three sub-specialties. For the second straight year, Texas Children’s Heart Center ranks No. 1 in the nation for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery. Texas Children’s Pulmonology ranks as the best program in the country for children with lung diseases.

Texas Children’s has 8 subspecialties ranked in the top 10, and the hospital improved outcomes across all sub-specialties. There are approximately 190 children’s hospitals in the U.S. and this year, 86 of the 189 surveyed hospitals were ranked among the top 50 in at least one sub-specialty. The 2018-19 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll recognizes the 10 hospitals with the highest rankings across all sub-specialties. Here are a few highlights of this year’s rankings for Texas Children’s:

  • Cardiology and Congenital Heart Surgery is again no. 1 in the nation and received the top score in externally reported risk-adjusted operative mortality for congenital heart surgery.
  • Pulmonology, which first debuted in the top spot in the 2016 rankings, is now again ranked no. 1 in the nation. We received the top score in several asthma outcomes and structure metrics, such as mean LOS for asthma patients.
  • Neurology and Neurosurgery moved from no. 4 to no. 3, receiving the top score in several outcomes metrics, such as 30-day readmissions for craniotomy and Chiari decompression and complication rate for epilepsy surgical procedures.
  • Nephrology also moved from no. 4 to no. 3, with the top score in one-year kidney transplant graft survival and hemodialysis catheter-associated bloodstream infections.
  • Urology moved from no. 6 to no. 4, propelled by the top score in unplanned hospital admission for urologic issues within 30 days of surgery, as well as significant improvements in hypospadias and revision surgeries.

Texas Children’s, working closely with our academic partner Baylor College of Medicine, continues to pioneer advancements in pediatric health care and earns the U.S. News honor roll distinction by being ranked among America’s best in:

  • #1 Cardiology and Congenital Heart Surgery
  • #1 Pulmonology
  • #3 Neurology and Neurosurgery
  • #3 Nephrology
  • #4 Gastroenterology and GI surgery
  • #4 Urology
  • #6 Cancer
  • #6 Diabetes and Endocrinology
  • #15 Orthopedics
  • #21 Neonatology

This year’s rankings are the results 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 others.

“From a measurement perspective, our survey results demonstrate how hard we’re working as an organization to deliver high quality care to our patients,” Wallace said. “The more consistently we deliver high quality care and the safer we deliver that care to our patients, the better their outcomes are, and the better our overall numbers are.”

Our results continue to reflect the diligent efforts of a solid structure focused on the U.S. News survey. The process of compiling and refining our data is an ongoing challenge, which will continue to improve under the excellent leadership of Trudy Leidich, Elizabeth Pham and the entire USNWR team.

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