C.S. Mott Children's Hospital ranked among nation's best children's hospitals

The University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital is among the best children's hospitals in the country in pediatric specialties and is the only hospital in Michigan ranked in all 10 specialties evaluated, according to the U.S. News & World Report's 2013-14 Best Children's Hospitals rankings.

C.S. Mott is nationally ranked in all 10 of the evaluated categories including 6th in the country in cardiology and heart surgery, 20th in urology, 20th in nephrology and 21st in endocrinology and among the country's best in cancer, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, neonatology, pulmonology and orthopedics. C.S. Mott has been named among the nation's best in these rankings since they were introduced in 2007.
The new rankings recognize the top 50 children's hospitals in each of those 10 pediatric specialties.

"We are extremely proud that we continue to get high rankings from U.S. News & World Report for the tremendous care we provide to our patients and families at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital," says Ora H. Pescovitz, M.D., executive vice president for Medical Affairs at the University of Michigan and CEO of the U-M Health System.

"We strive for an ideal patient care experience, so it's wonderful to receive recognition for our efforts and to be ranked year after year among the nation's best in all the specialties."

U.S. News introduced the Best Children's Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of sick children find the best medical care available. The rankings offer quality-related information at the individual hospital level.

"We have worked very hard at improving quality of care, safety and patient satisfaction at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, so it is very meaningful to be honored once again as a comprehensive children's hospital in all of the specialty pediatric disciplines," says Valerie Castle, M.D., Ravitz professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and a pediatric oncologist.

Chris Dickinson, M.D., interim executive director of C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, said he's glad that U.S. News and World Report has recognized the tremendous care provided for the children at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

"This ranking, along with the recent Parents Magazine ranking that placed C.S. Mott Children's Hospital eighth in the nation, demonstrate that we are on the right track, providing top-notch care for often the sickest children with the most complicated diseases from Michigan and around the world," says Dickinson, who also is a professor of pediatric gastroenterology.

C.S. Mott's highest ranking was in heart care and heart surgery, 6th in the nation.
C.S. Mott's Congenital Heart Center performs over 850 cardiac operations each year -- from the most common to the most complex. As an international referral center for children with complex congenital heart problems, U-M has the second largest congenital heart program in the United States.

"Our teams of caregivers really shine in all of our programs, so we're thrilled to be ranked among the nation's best in all 10 categories evaluated," says John Park, M.D., surgeon-in-chief for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and the Cheng Yang Chang professor of pediatric urology. "Here at the University of Michigan we are committed to becoming the leaders and best in innovative interdisciplinary care, merging kind and compassionate healing with cutting-edge research and education."

Each hospital's reputation among doctors was only a small part of what U.S. News factored into its rankings. Three-quarters of each hospital's score was determined through an analysis of patient outcomes and data on the structural resources each hospital has for pediatric care. To gather data, U.S. News used two surveys: a clinical questionnaire sent to 179 pediatric hospitals and, for the reputational assessment, a survey of 150 pediatric specialists and subspecialists in each specialty. The 1,500 physicians were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty, setting aside location and expense.

This year, U.S. News surveyed 178 pediatric centers to obtain hard data such as availability of key resources and ability to prevent complications and infections. The hospital survey made up 75 percent of the rankings. A separate reputational survey in which 1,500 pediatric specialists — 150 in each specialty — were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty made up the remaining 25 percent.