Newswise — Los Angeles - Whether it’s mending broken arms, operating on fetal hearts, removing brain tumors or fighting cancer—across-the-board excellence is the reason U.S. News & World Report today has ranked Children’s Hospital Los Angeles once again as one of the best children’s hospitals in the United States, and as the top pediatric medical center in California.
For the eighth straight year, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has achieved the survey’s Honor Roll status, an elite ranking bestowed on hospitals that excel in multiple medical specialties. Only 11 children’s hospitals in the country made the Honor Roll in 2016-17—CHLA is the only pediatric healthcare institution in California to be named to the list every year since the Honor Roll began in 2009. Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report has published an annual assessment of the nation’s best health care facilities. CHLA has been included among its “Best Children’s Hospitals” every year.“We are honored to receive this acknowledgment and recognition of CHLA’s dedication to providing demonstrably superior clinical care and the work we do to create hope and build healthier futures for every child we treat,” says Paul S. Viviano, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “U.S. News & World Report has included CHLA among the nation’s finest hospitals for children for 27 years, and this unprecedented streak is a credit to the passion, commitment and teamwork exhibited by our physicians, nurses, clinical staff and employees, all of whom strive each day to provide the best care to our patients and their families.”
Of the 183 pediatric medical centers participating this year, CHLA’s comprehensive score placed it No. 7 overall in the United States, with seven of the hospital’s divisions also listed among the top 10 in their medical specialty. Overall, Children's Hospital Los Angeles’ equaled or improved its national ranking in six categories compared to last year’s survey results. For 2016-17, CHLA’s Cancer and Neonatology teams both moved up one spot to No. 7 in the nation. Orthopaedics also moved up one spot to No. 8, while Gastroenterology & GI Surgery moved up to take the No. 9 slot. U.S. News ranked CHLA’ s Diabetes & Endocrinology program eighth overall, while Cardiology & Heart Surgery and Urology both ranked 10th nationally. With Neurology & Neurosurgery ranking 16th, Pulmonology 19th and Nephrology 24th, CHLA earned top-25 recognition in each of the ten specialty areas evaluated by this prestigious review. “Our mission to treat children better is a promise to provide care that considers the differences between pediatric patients and adults – physiologically, psychologically, culturally, individually – a promise we carry out wholeheartedly. We are grateful to be recognized for CHLA’s consistent efforts to fulfill our mission of care,” Viviano says.The purpose of the Best Children’s Hospitals list, according to U.S. News & World Report, is “to identify hospitals that provide the highest quality of care for children with the most serious or complicated medical conditions.” U.S. News emphasizes that “pediatric-specific data are critical because young patients present special challenges. Their small size relative to adults complicates every facet of care, from intubation to drug dosages; they are more vulnerable to infection; they depend on adults to manage and administer their medications; and they are treated for congenital diseases such as spina bifida and cystic fibrosis.”
For its annual rankings, U.S. News combines clinical and operational data, results of a reputational survey of board-certified specialists along with industry data available from specialty organizations (such as the National Cancer Institute). For its annual rankings, U.S. News compiles hard data on 10 different pediatric medical specialties, drawn from a lengthy survey completed by the majority of the pediatric facilities asked to participate. The questions reflect three major categories of evaluation:
• Structure: Hospital resources directly related to patient care (including ratio of nurses to patients, specialized clinics, notable third-party certifications)• Process: Overall rendering of diagnosis, treatment, prevention and patient education (also factors in patient safety, as well as industry reputation)• Outcomes: Not just survival rates, but also functional success and rates of adverse events (such as organ failure or bloodstream infections)
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been providing high-quality pediatric care to the children of Southern California residents for 115 years. Since the 2011 opening of the hospital’s state-of-the-art inpatient tower, the Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion, the hospital has achieved Magnet® re-designation for nursing excellence and four times earned Top Hospital designation for safety and quality by The Leapfrog Group. In 2015, the Vision Center at CHLA received a $2.5 million gift to advance online medical education techniques, expand research infrastructure and use cutting-edge telemedicine technology to increase patient access. In early 2016, CHLA established the new Gores Family Allergy Center, named after philanthropist and financier Tom Gores and his wife Holly, to provide a much-needed comprehensive resource to Southern California children suffering from life-threatening allergies and their families. The hospital also opened a new pediatric cardiology outpatient clinic in Bakersfield, Calif., in response to a growing need voiced by pediatricians and patients in the community.
Research is at the core of CHLA’s mission to provide innovative clinical care and the hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive freestanding pediatric research facilities in the United States. In 2015, the National Institutes of Health awarded Saban researchers a five-year, $8 million dollar grant for a landmark study on the effects of adolescent substance use on brain development. CHLA also received a $2 million endowment from The Kort Family Foundation to spur research that could lead to non-invasive diagnosis and more personalized treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors. In 2016, researchers were awarded a $7.1 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine Translational Research to develop cellular therapy to treat nerve disorders of the digestive system. U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings recognize the top 50 children’s hospitals in 10 pediatric specialties. Of the 183 centers providing enough clinical information to be evaluated this year, 78 were ranked in at least one specialty. U.S. News Media Group, the parent of U.S. News & World Report, announced the 2016-17 hospital rankings at 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, June 21, online. Below are links that can be referenced for additional information:
• Best Children’s Hospitals 2016-17 Honor Rollhttp://www.health.usnews.com/health-news/wellness/articles/2016-06-21/best-childrens-hospitals-2016-17-honor-roll-and-overview • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Specialty Rankingshttp://www.health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/ca/childrens-hospital-los-angeles-6931470 • Specialty Rankings for Children’s Hospitalshttp://www.health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings
About Children’s Hospital Los AngelesChildren's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.For more information, visit http://www.CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram, or visit the institution’s child health blog (http://www.WeTreatKidsBetter.org) or its research blog (http://www.ResearCHLABlog.org).
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