Top 10 Children's Hospitals in the U.S.

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Choosing the right hospital for a sick child is a critical decision. As a parent, you want to ensure they receive the best possible treatment, and knowing what to look for in a children’s hospital can help you focus on the essentials.

The list of top children’s hospitals was designed to help parents and their general practitioners make the best decision for children depending on their condition and the required level of specialized care. It provides a useful starting point, but there are many things to consider before making your final choice.

What Children’s Hospital Criteria Are Important?

Every year for the last 17 years, the U.S. News and World Report announce the best children’s hospitals rankings to provide parents and families with information to help them choose the best hospital. Children’s hospitals must meet specific criteria based on data from about 200 facilities nationwide to ensure parents get the most pertinent information.

The ranking process is detailed and thorough. Some of the many criteria they evaluate include:

Patient outcomes, including mortality and infection rates.
Available clinical resources.
Compliance with best practices.
Level and quality of hospital resources explicitly related to patient care.
Expert opinion among pediatric specialists.
Diversity, equality, and inclusion.

The rankings are more detailed than simply choosing the top 10 hospitals. They indicate the top 50 facilities in each of the following pediatric specialties:

Neurology and neurosurgery
Cardiology and heart surgery
Orthopedics
Cancer
Gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery
Neonatology
Nephrology
Diabetes and endocrinology
Urology
Pulmunory and lung surgery

The Top 10 Children’s Hospitals

Many hospitals have specific strengths, which means they could rank for one of the above specialties. The honor roll awards distinctions to 10 hospitals that deliver exceptional, comprehensive care across multiple specialties.

The top 10 hospitals on the 2022-2023 honor roll are:

Boston Children’s Hospital: Top five for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, neonatology, pediatric diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, pediatric nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, and urology.
Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston: Top five for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, cancer, neonatology, diabetes and endocrinology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, and pulmonology and lung surgery.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center: Top five for pediatric cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery, and urology.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Top five for pediatric cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, and orthopedics.
Children’s National Hospital in Washington: Top five for neonatology, pediatric neurology, and neurosurgery.
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh: Top five for pediatric cardiology, heart surgery, and neonatology.
Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora: Top five for pediatric gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: Top five for pediatric cancer and orthopedics.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio: Top five for pulmonology and lung surgery.
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Standford in Palo Alto, California: Top 10 for nephrology, neonatology, and diabetes and endocrinology.

What to Consider When You’re Looking for a Children’s Hospital

As a parent, you have many considerations when your child needs medical treatment. Keep the following in mind when choosing a hospital for your child:

Specialist Care

The first and most fundamental consideration is to find a hospital with the right specialists to treat your child’s condition. Look for hospitals that specialize and have experience in your child’s condition. The top 10 hospital rankings can be instrumental in choosing a hospital, as they detail many hospitals with specialist skills for pediatric conditions.

Family-Centered Approaches and Child-Friendly Environment

When a child requires hospital care, it affects the whole family, particularly if they need regular or ongoing treatment. Your children’s hospital should understand how one child’s medical treatment affects the family and help you navigate the process with in-depth guidance. You may need to make adjustments at home, and family members could need counseling. A suitable children’s hospital should support the whole family during treatment.

Hospitals can be scary for children, and a good children’s hospital will go the extra mile to make your child’s space feel safer. When you walk into the children’s ward, you should see fun colors, positive pictures on the walls, or even a dedicated space where children can play. In short, you should be comfortable picturing your child in that environment.

Access to State-of-the-Art Technology

Constant advancements in medicine can change your child’s experience. Technological innovations can accelerate a diagnosis, shorten recovery time and grant your child access to specialists worldwide. Access to the latest technology and robotics can boost the success rates for complex and risky procedures, elevating your child’s safety and giving you peace of mind during their treatment.

Experienced Surgery Teams

If your child needs surgery, it’s worth finding out as much as possible about the surgery teams at your hospital of choice. The surgeon is vital, but surgery involves a team of anesthesiologists, nurses, assistants, and technicians. All surgeries involve risks, so you want to know how long the operating room (OR) team has worked together and how much experience the members have. Ask your potential children’s hospital for information on their OR team so that you can compare before deciding.

Specialized Service for Children

Your child could need various services while receiving treatment, including surgeries, access to specialists, lab tests, computed tomography (CT) scans, and more. Not all hospitals have a setup that accommodates children, but a good children’s hospital does. Consider all the services your child might need during their treatment and check that your potential hospitals can provide them and more.

Awards and Accreditations

Depending on your child’s condition, ask the hospitals about any accreditations and awards they have received for related treatment. Any hospital you choose must meet the regulatory requirements to treat your child’s condition. For example, the Commission on Cancer (CoC) accredits pediatric cancer treatments in various hospitals. Research the accreditations for your child’s condition and ask the hospital whether they carry them.

Transportation to Children’s Hospitals

The best hospital for your child could be miles away, but you should still be able to get there. Whether you need an air ambulance or a non-emergency medical escort, transporting your child by air saves you valuable time. It keeps them in contact with medical professionals on the flight. The flight crew should be familiar with transporting children and have experience in pediatric and neonatal medical transport.

AirCARE1 offers medical air services with highly trained and experienced medical staff and pilots who understand the importance of high-quality flight safety, patient comfort, and care. We know how frightening illness and transport can be and pride ourselves on a holistic approach to keeping children calm and relaxed en route to the hospital. Our methods include music, aromatherapy, hand massages, and having someone on hand to talk.

With a base in Arizona, we often provide services to and from Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, which ranks in the top 50 for eight specialties, including:

Nephrology
Gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery
Neurology and neurosurgery
Neonatology
Diabetes and endocrinology
Urology
Cardiology and heart surgery
Pulmonology and lung surgery

You can rest assured you and your child are in capable hands, as all of the AirCARE1 staff understand the different transport needs for various medical conditions. We make a difference in our patients’ lives by providing care, empathy, and compassion to advance healing.

Need Transportation to Your Child’s Medical Facility? Request a Quote With AirCARE1 to Get Started

You have so much to worry about when your child needs hospital care, and choosing the right hospital can be full of anxiety. Ensure transport to your child’s medical facility isn’t another worry with AirCARE1. We have vast experience in pediatric and neonatal transport and reliable, personalized in-flight medical care. Our team genuinely cares about your child — each one goes the extra mile to make them safe and comfortable during your trip.

If you’re looking for air ambulance or commercial medical escort services from a provider that strives to make a difference in each patient’s life, contact us for a quote. Let us provide empathetic and compassionate care that advances your child’s healing process today!

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