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.

March 1, 2022

Diana Morales shares her experience as a Growth Hormone Coordinator for Texas Children’s Diabetes and Endocrine Clinic. Read More

September 30, 2019

To be ranked among the best children’s hospital services in the nation by U.S. News and World Report is a big deal. But when you talk to leaders within the Diabetes & Endocrinology service you get the sense that high performance is simply who they are.

“We are extremely proud of the recognition because it speaks to how hard we work,” said Curtis Yee, practice administrator of the Diabetes and Endocrinology section. “But we also recognize that we still have a lot of work left to do for our patients and families.”

This year the service ranked at No. 8.

What makes a high performing team?
Ryan Breaux, U.S. News and World Report service team lead, said the heart and soul of the program’s success is the quality infrastructure of the Diabetes Care Process Team which is comprised of approximately 150 people.

“A strong team is motivated to improve outcomes for our patients. That’s the core of our work every single day and it shines through,” Breaux said. “I also give a lot of credit to Dr. Rona Sonabend who has been instrumental in building the culture of this service.”

The Diabetes care process team includes providers, nurses, diabetes educators, dietitians, social workers, data technicians, and psychologists.

U.S. News recognized several big wins for patients and families:

  • An increase in percentage of patients with Diabetes who have LDL cholesterol less than 130, which is tied directly to the physical health of patients within the service.
  • A significant increase in patient encounters with a nutritionist, certified dietitian educator, social worker, and/or a psychologist for patients with Diabetes – a marker that captures how much emphasis is placed on the overall health and well-being of patients with diabetes
  • Increased dialated retinal or non-mydriatic camera examinations in the diabetes clinics to ensure that the eye health of patients with diabetes is regularly monitored.
  • Closed out all structural related metrics in an effort to guarantee that the service has the structural and procedural framework to keep performing at the highest level possible.
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.

March 29, 2017

On March 24, country singer-songwriter, RaeLynn, celebrated the release of her debut album, WildHorse, at Texas Children’s Hospital. The day was filled with excitement as the Baytown native made her first donation from The RaeLynn Diabetes Fund to the hospital, which she credits for saving her life when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12.

Dr. Jake Kushner, chief of diabetes and endocrinology at Texas Children’s, accepted the gift on behalf of the hospital and thanked RaeLynn for her support of patients just like her.

“We are honored to have this emphasis on Type 1 diabetes, which is a special source of passion for us at Texas Children’s Hospital,” Kushner said. “For those of us who have spent our lives dedicated to the children who have Type 1 diabetes, it’s also very important to us to see adults who are living with the disease, too.”

Because of RaeLynn’s special contributions to the city of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner was on hand to proclaim March 24 “RaeLynn Day.”

“On behalf of the city of Houston, we are so proud of you and know that your best days are ahead of you,” Turner said. “I’m always thrilled to support the amazing talent that comes from the city of Houston.”

Following the proclamation, patients joined RaeLynn in the hospital’s Kids’ Own Studio to listen to songs off of her album and smile for photos.

“The care that this hospital gave me at such a young age and the confidence it gave me to just be really comfortable with my diabetes is just absolutely incredible,” RaeLynn said. “I’m so honored to be able to stand here today and give from my diabetes fund on a day that is so special to me.”

More about RaeLynn

RaeLynn’s breakthrough came after appearing on NBC’s hit show, The Voice, in 2012. Since then, her career as soared with her current single “Love Triangle” reaching sales milestones and the music video racking up more than 5 million views. Recently nominated for the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards fan-voted THE FRESHEST! – BEST NEW ARTIST COUNTRY and selected as a 2017 “Country Artist to Watch” by Pandora Radio, Napster and Billboard, RaeLynn has tallied 104 million plus cumulative career streams.

She is poised to follow in the early success of her Top 10, GOLD-certified song “God Made Girls” that has racked up more than 925,000 track equivalent sales and has been streamed more than 48 million times. The track was nominated in 2016 for Radio Disney’s Favorite Country Song, earned her recognition as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country and was the highest charting debut single by a solo female in 2014. The music video has accumulated more than 28 million views and earned her a pair of CMT Music Award nominations for Female Video of the Year and Breakthrough Video of the Year in 2015.

More about Texas Children’s Diabetes and Endocrine Care Center

The Texas Children’s Diabetes and Endocrine Care Center is a leader in the research and treatment of children with diabetes and endocrine disorders. The center provides diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of endocrine dysfunctions, including:

  • congenital adrenal hyperplasia
  • growth hormone deficiency
  • hypo/hyperthyroidism
  • hyper/hypocalcemia
  • precocious puberty

We also treat and educate both established and newly diagnosed diabetes patients and their families in self-management of all aspects of types 1 and 2 diabetes.