Six pediatric programs at MUSC rank in U.S. News and World Report

MUSC Children’s Hospital is once again the only such institution in South Carolina to be ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 2017-18 edition of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.”

The latest rankings are published online at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings.

The leading specialties for MUSC Children’s Hospital are: No. 11 for cardiology and heart surgery; No. 28 for nephrology; No. 37 for urology; No. 36 for cancer; No. 47 for gastroenterology and GI surgery; and No. 45 for neurology and neurosurgery.

Newcomers to the list this year, although known throughout the state for their unparalleled, specialized care, neurology and neurosurgery were recognized for quality of care, strong clinical outcomes and survival rates. In addition, the cardiology and heart surgery programs now sit one spot away from the top 10 programs in the country. Cancer, gastroenterology and GI surgery, urology, and nephrology continued strong showings for this ranking period.

Mark A. Scheurer, M.D., MUSC Children’s Health chief of clinical services, said these rankings represent a steadfast commitment by the entire children’s hospital staff to delivering the highest quality pediatric care in the region.

“Although each of these programs should be proud of these specific achievements, they truly reflect the collective hard work of all our teams. As we look to the opening of the new hospital in 2019 and continue developing our outpatient subspecialty care services within communities, we feel confident that we are striking the appropriate balance that puts the needs of our patients and their families first.”

The 11th annual rankings highlight the top 50 U.S. pediatric hospitals in each of 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. In the 2017-18 rankings, 81 of the 187 hospitals surveyed were ranked in at least one of the 10 specialties.

The current methodology combines clinical and operational data, results from a reputational survey of board-certified pediatric specialists, and supplemental information from resources such as the National Cancer Institute. RTI International collects and analyzes the data for the rankings. The methodology reflects the level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care, such as staffing, technology and special services; delivery of health care, such as reputation among pediatric specialists, programs that prevent infections and adherence to best practices; and clinical outcomes, such as patient survival, infection rates and complications. Survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing and procedure volume are among the many kinds of information about each ranked hospital that is considered.

Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and university vice president for health affairs, said the care team members at the Children’s Hospital once again have another source of validation for the excellent care they are delivering to our patients and their families every day.

“Clearly, the biggest validation they receive comes from those they serve, but these annual rankings certainly confirm that collectively we are leading health innovation for all the lives we touch at our Children’s Hospital,” Cawley said. “We can’t wait to see how the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital will take the state’s comprehensive care of children and their families to new and unprecedented heights for our state."