Here Are Illinois' Best Children's Hospitals: US News

Five Illinois children’s hospitals are among the best in the country across numerous pediatric specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report. The news organization released its 12th annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings Tuesday.

This year's list looks at 10 pediatric specialties: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgerys; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology. In Illinois, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago; University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital; Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn; Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge; and OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois in Peoria all made the list.

Here’s how they ranked:

Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago

• Total specialties ranked: 10
  • Cancer: 18
  • Cardiology and Heart Surgery: 3
  • Diabetes and Endocrinology: 29
  • Gastroenterology and GI Surgery: 8
  • Neonatology: 11
  • Nephrology: 12
  • Neurology and Neurosurgery: 12
  • Orthopedics: 25
  • Pulmonology: 26
  • Urology: 5

University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, Chicago

• Total specialties ranked: 4
  • Diabetes and Endocrinology: 49
  • Gastroenterology and GI Surgery: 50
  • Orthopedics: 48
  • Pulmonology: 48

Advocate Children's Hospital, Oak Lawn

• Total specialties ranked: 1
  • Cardiology and Heart Surgery: 23

Advocate Children's Hospital, Park Ridge

• Total specialties ranked: 2
  • Cardiology and Heart Surgery: 23
  • Neonatology: 38

OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois, Peoria

• Total specialties ranked: 1
  • Urology: 31

Along with its individual specialty rankings, Lurie Children's Hospital was one of 10 facilities in the country to make the U.S. News report's "Honor Roll," which recognizes pediatric centers that provide “exceptionally high-quality care” across multiple specialties. The Chicago hospital ranked No. 10 on the Honor Roll, with Boston Children’s Hospital topping that specific list, ranking first overall in three different specialties: neurology and neurosurgery, nephrology and orthopedics.

Honor Roll

1. Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts
2. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4. Texas Children’s Hospital, Texas
5. Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
6. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, California
7. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio
8. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Maryland
9. Children's Hospital Colorado, Colorado
10. LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, CHICAGO

Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News, told Patch the rankings are designed with parents and young patients in mind. Families can make better decisions by having access to what the authors called the “most comprehensive data” available, in addition to their doctors’ advice.

“There are hundreds if not thousands of hospitals in the country that take care of kids from time to time,” Harder said. “But there are only a couple hundred that really specialize in taking care of sick kids.”

These rankings are intended to aid families with young patients suffering from “particularly challenging” medical diagnoses and who need an “extra level of care,” he said. This includes pediatric cancer, a heart defect, a complicated fracture or a birth defect. The rankings highlight which hospital has the best experience, capabilities, teams and track records in achieving “good outcomes” for young patients.

Most families do not need a top hospital most of the time, he said.

“There are hundreds of hospitals that can treat run-of-the-mill stuff like a sprained ankle or managing asthma,” said Harder.

In developing the rankings, the authors looked at measures such as patient outcomes, including rates of death and infection, as well as available clinical resources and compliance with best practices.

Click here to read the full methodology.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago (Image via Google Earth)