Newswise — LOS ANGELES (June 15, 2021) — Families looking for the best medical care for kids can be confident in the world-class expertise and patient-centered care found at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). CHLA has again been ranked the top children’s hospital in California, the top-ranked children’s hospital in the Pacific region of the United States and the No. 5 children’s hospital in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Children's Hospitals list, published today.
This is the third straight year CHLA has achieved a top-5 national ranking on U.S. News’ Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals, the publication’s prestigious list of the premier destinations for outstanding pediatric care. CHLA also was the top-ranked children’s hospital in U.S. News’ new Pacific region, which encompasses Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
“I am grateful to U.S. News & World Report for once again affirming that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles provides the highest quality care from the most qualified specialists in the Pacific region,” says Paul S. Viviano, CHLA President and Chief Executive Officer. “This honor signals to families that we are the best health care choice for their children in more than a 1,000-mile radius. It is also a testament to the commitment of our doctors, nurses and team members to saving lives and improving the health of our young patients.”
For the 2021-22 Best Children’s Hospitals list, 110 pediatric hospitals—comprising freestanding institutions like CHLA, children’s hospitals that are part of a larger health system, and specialty pediatric centers—were evaluated in the ranking process. Each was scored according to performance benchmarks, peer review, certifications and data provided by the hospital as well as third-party measurements of excellence. CHLA received exceptional marks in all 10 pediatric subspecialties assessed by the survey, including top-10 recognition in seven categories:
- No. 7 – Cancer
- No. 3 – Cardiology & Heart Surgery
- No. 8 – Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders
- No. 6 – Gastroenterology & GI Surgery
- No. 2 – Neonatal Care
- No. 15 – Nephrology
- No. 9 – Neurology & Neurosurgery
- No. 4 – Orthopaedics
- No. 12 – Pulmonology
- No. 16 – Urology
“Even through the COVID-19 pandemic, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has stood firm in our promise to help every patient, including some of the most complex and acute pediatric cases from around the world,” says James Stein, M.D., MSc., CHLA Chief Medical Officer. “Being named one of the top children’s hospitals in the U.S. is an especially meaningful honor this year because it demonstrates that every program and service at CHLA continues to provide the best care in the safest possible environment for our patients and their families.”
Driven by a mission of creating hope and building healthier futures for children, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is world-renowned for clinical care; for leading-edge research conducted in The Saban Research Institute of CHLA; and for having one of the largest pediatric training programs in the country. Each year, CHLA conducts more than 600,000 patient visits at its main campus in the heart of Los Angeles and its six specialty care clinics throughout Southern California. Patients range in age from newborn infants to young adults and come to CHLA from all 50 states and 90 countries; their care crosses all pediatric specialties and spans the entire range of expertise, from well-child visits and vaccinations to organ transplants and cellular therapies.
Regardless of the requirements that faced hospitals and healthcare organizations amid the impact of the global pandemic, CHLA was home to several notable achievements and firsts for child health, including:
- A rare, innovative heart surgery to save the life of a premature infant. CHLA’s Heart Institute team also performed complex heart surgeries on more than 100 newborns and infants in the past year.
- Its 400th liver transplant, a milestone only reached by 10 percent of U.S. hospitals. CHLA’s 35 kidney transplants performed in 2020, including a child who received a kidney transplant from his mother, were the most by any U.S. children’s hospital.
- Breakthrough cancer treatments, including stem cell transplants. CHLA is also developing new CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy) treatments that hold promise for treating leukemia and solid tumors such as neuroblastoma. In addition, CHLA’s Cancer and Blood Disease Institute annually performs more than 120 lifesaving bone marrow transplant and CAR T-cell therapy
- The opening of its new Neurological Institute Outpatient Center to complement a vast array of inpatient neurological and neurosurgery services, including treating epilepsy and brain tumors.
- Unique hip-preservation surgeries to support young athletes. In a typical year, the Children’s Orthopaedic Center team performs more than 150 hip surgeries and more than 250 scoliosis procedures.
- Pioneering an Early Intervention Surgery protocol for cleft lip and palate.
Each year, U.S. News and World Report develops the Best Hospitals and Best Children’s Hospitals rankings with the help of research firm RTI International. Children's hospitals are ranked separately from other facilities due to the specialized expertise, equipment and facilities required to care for infants, children and youth. The survey evaluates hundreds of criteria, including patient survival and surgical complication rates; staffing levels and expertise, technology and special services; infection prevention and delivery of care, including how parents are integrated into their child’s care. A significant portion of the rankings is dedicated to reputation among physicians nationally—specialists are asked where they would send their patients for the very best care, if resources were not an issue. The resulting list is created as a resource to help parents and their children find the best and most appropriate care.
U.S. News Media Group, the parent company of U.S. News & World Report, published the 2021-22 hospital rankings just after midnight EST on Tuesday, June 15.
About Children's Hospital Los Angeles Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is the largest provider of care for children in Los Angeles County. Families travel from all 50 states and 90 countries so that their children can receive the very best care. The hospital’s clinical teams treat patients ranging in age from newborn infants to young adults for everything from well-child visits to organ transplantation. It is ranked the top children’s hospital in California as well as in the Pacific region, and fifth in the nation for clinical excellence by U.S. News & World Report in its prestigious Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals. Clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC through an affiliation dating from 1932. It is home to the largest pediatric residency training program at a freestanding children’s hospital of its kind in the western United States. Among the top 10 children’s hospitals for National Institutes of Health funding, The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles leads the field in innovative bench-to-bedside basic, translational and clinical research conducted in pediatrics.
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