Comer Children's Hospital gains ground on annual best hospitals list

U.S. News & World Report rates Comer among the top in four pediatric specialties

June 11, 2013

The University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital has ranked among the best in four of 10 pediatric specialties, including in cancer, according to U.S. News & World Report's latest list of the nation's best children's hospitals.

In the 2013-14 "Best Children's Hospitals" report, Comer placed No. 36 in gastroenterology & GI surgery (up from 37 in 2012), 40 in diabetes & endocrinology (same as in 2012), 40 in neonatology (up from 49) and 45 in cancer. Of the 110 hospitals that submitted sufficient data to be evaluated by U.S. News, 87 were ranked in at least one specialty.

"It's an honor to be recognized as a leading provider of care for children facing the most challenging of medical conditions," said David Gozal, MD, professor and chairman of pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine and physician-in-chief at Comer Children's Hospital. "There's no doubt that our multidisciplinary approach to patient care along with our commitment to excellence and our relentless efforts in innovation and discovery were key in our evaluation. Each year, thousands of parents place their trust not with individual physicians, but with our world-class teams of experts across dozens of specialties. These families are the reason we take such pride in this achievement.

The rankings list the 50 best-performing hospitals in 10 pediatric specialties and are based on objective data, which include patient safety, procedure volume and clinical outcomes, according to U.S. News & World Report. In addition, U.S. News sent a reputational survey asking pediatric specialists and sub-specialists to name hospitals they consider best for the toughest cases, making up 25 percent of a hospital's score. The full rankings and methodology will be available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals on June 11, 2013.

Comer Children's Hospital is a major referral center for the care of children with complex disease from across the Midwest and around the world. Last year, more than 4,600 children were hospitalized at Comer, and its physicians provided roughly 41,000 general pediatric and specialty care visits. In addition, its pediatric emergency room handled more than 28,000 visits.

To learn more about the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital, visit uchicagokidshospital.org or www.facebook.com/UChicagoMedComer.