Phoenix Children’s again ranked among best in all 10 specialties

Phoenix Children’s is one of a small number of pediatric hospitals in the nation that — once again — has earned high rankings in all 10 specialties in the annual U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals.

The hospital is one of only 24 children’s hospitals in the United States to rank in all 10 surveyed specialties for 2020-2021. This is the fourth time the institution has received recognition in all 10. 

Neonatology, orthopedics and cardiology and heart surgery were the hospital’s highest ranked programs this year.   

“It’s exciting for us. It’s a testament to the hard work that hundreds of people put in every day. It’s a testament to our leadership for recruiting top-notch talent to be able to provide that quality of care,” said Dr. Kelly Kelleher, who recently spoke to Chamber Business News about the rankings and how the hospital is being affected by COVID-19.

To be nationally ranked in a specialty, a hospital must excel in caring for the sickest, most medically complex patients.

Keeping families safe during COVID-19

To calculate the rankings, U.S. News & World Report analyzes a number of measures including clinical expertise, quality of care, and patient outcomes. 

One category that is particularly important to families during the pandemic is safe care, said Kelleher, who also is chief quality and safety officer. 

Like other hospitals in the state, it has implemented a variety of precautions to protect patients, visitors and staff from the coronavirus. Everyone, even children as young as 3, are required to wear masks, Kelleher said.

To address family concerns, the hospital is offering telehealth visits. But if a child is having serious health issues, parents should not be afraid to bring them into the hospital, Kelleher said.

“We want to be seen as a resource in the community and we want to be a place where families feel comfortable and they know when they come here they’re going to get high quality care that’s safe.”

So far, the hospital has not had many admissions of children with severe cases of COVID-19. For the most part, children are not as adversely affected as adults, she said.

Hospital treating children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome

The hospital also has been seeing cases of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome 

(MIS-C) that occurs after a child is infected with COVID-19, and expects more to come as the disease is surging across the state, Kelleher said.

But cases are “exceptionally rare,” she said. MIS-C is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

The rankings 

This is the 10th consecutive year Phoenix Children’s has been named among the nation’s Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. 

Specialties are measured by national surveys of pediatric specialists who rank top pediatric hospitals in specific specialties by indicating where they would send their sickest patients.

Here is the list of the hospital’s national rankings this year:

-Neonatology, #20           

-Orthopedics, #23

-Cardiology and Heart Surgery, #27

-Neurology and Neurosurgery, #29

-Nephrology, #33             

-Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, #34             

-Hematology and Oncology, #35

-Pulmonology & Lung Surgery, #37                

-Diabetes and Endocrinology, #39

-Urology, #45

Phoenix Children’s reputation attracts patients worldwide 

Phoenix Children’s is one of Arizona’s many world-class health care institutions that draws not only patients, but industry and families to the state.

Young patients at the hospital benefit from partnerships with many of these facilities including Barrow Neurological Institute and the Mayo Clinic.  

Other honors this year 

Phoenix Children’s ranking among the nation’s Best Children’s Hospitals comes on the heels of several other high-profile honors and acknowledgments. 

In April, the health system was verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center. In addition, it recently received a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and is routinely recognized by Solutions for Patient Safety for its quality work. Late last year, the hospital received a Five Star Patient Care “Vigi Award.”

About Phoenix Children’s Hospital

For more than 35 years, Phoenix Children’s has provided world-class inpatient, outpatient, trauma, emergency and urgent care to children and families in Arizona and throughout the Southwest. As one of the largest children’s hospitals in the country, Phoenix Children’s delivers care across more than 75 pediatric specialties. For more information about the hospital, visit Phoenix Children’s.