Children are vulnerable! This last year and a half has been one of great challenge and confusion for many, perhaps for most. Imagine what it has felt like for the smallest and youngest among us. As parents and guardians, it is within our purview to ensure they receive the best care when a need arises. Here is one proactive way to hold onto some control when events facing us today appear scary and largely out of control; by gathering information on “Big Care” options for our children.

15 years ago, U.S. News & World Report began publishing a review, with the intention of providing an excellent guide for parents and guardians seeking the very best care for their children.

According to the Children’s Hospital Association, 1 in 20 U.S. hospitals is a children’s hospital. The American Hospital Association informs us that there are just over 5,000 Community hospitals and the United States Census Bureau estimates there to be 75 million children under the age of 18. This is approximately 250 hospitals caring for our nation’s children.

Because of their age and immaturity, all children are considered vulnerable. From birth to adulthood they have unique needs – from age-appropriate immunizations and regular preventive care to more acute illnesses and injuries. Children’s hospitals play a vital role in caring for our young ones. Well-trained and motivated healthcare professionals focused on each stage of a child’s development, furthers the best possible medical outcomes.

The 2021-22 U.S. News & World Report has listed out the ten hospitals earning a place on the Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll. In order of their ranking, and with direct links to each hospital, here is the latest list:

1. Boston Children’s Hospital

2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

3. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston

4. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

5. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

6. Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora

7. Children’s National Hospital, Washington, D.C.

8. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio

9. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

10. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Palo Alto, Calif.

The U.S. News Best Children’s Hospitals rankings further identified 88 hospitals with demonstrated expertise in one or more of 10 pediatric specialties: Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Neonatology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology & Lung Surgery, and Urology. How U.S. News analyzes this data and pulls it together is fully disclosed and available in the Best Children’s Hospitals Methodology Report.

Each of these hospitals, in concert with their dedicated staff, are committed to the ongoing contributions they make every day towards the health and well-being of children everywhere. For added peace of mind, once you make a decision on which hospital is the best choice for your child, you can visit their website to look at “outcomes.”

Here is one example: Boston Children’s Heart Center shows excellent outcomes in their surgical survival rates. In reviewing these outcomes, benchmarked against the national rates, you can see the results for each level of surgical complexity.

Another example would be Children’s National, a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) whose neonatology program has been ranked number one in the nation for the past 5 years, administering the most advanced treatments to premature and ill newborns.

Children’s hospitals within the United States are well-respected and considered amongst the finest in the world. Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s National are just two examples of hospitals throughout our beautiful nation leading the way in Big Care for Small Patients.

Written by:
Karen Derr, EMBA

Karen is the Business Development Manager at Medway Air Ambulance, heading up relationship management across the country. She specializes in engaging healthcare professionals at conferences and facility in-services from coast-to-coast. She has her Bachelor’s in Communication and an Executive MBA with an emphasis in Leadership. Karen has worked in Marketing and Relationship Management for the majority of her career, in addition to teaching college-level Marketing, Business and Management courses.