Duke Children's Tops in Triangle in 2011

May 17, 2011

U.S. News & World Report has released the 2011-12 Best Children's Hospitals rankings of America's top pediatric facilities in 10 pediatric specialties. Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center finished tops in the Triangle area, ranking among the top 50 nationally in all 10 areas of specialty. The rankings, released Tuesday, recognize the top 50 children’s hospitals in 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology.

“We are proud and honored to be ranked by U.S. News and World Report in all 10 programmatic areas,” said Joseph St. Geme, MD, Chair of the Duke Department of Pediatrics and CEO of Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center. “I firmly believe this distinction is reflective of the breadth and depth of our faculty and clinical staff’s talent and expertise.”

The results are based on an extensive analysis using a methodology that combines data from a survey of physicians, a direct survey of children's hospitals (mostly freestanding hospitals and large pediatric services amounting to a "hospitals within a hospital"), and other resources.

The data reflect hospital quality in three key aspects of hospital care: clinical outcomes such as surgical death rates, reputation among pediatric specialists, and hospital characteristics such as infection control programs and nursing adequacy. Ranking was based on a hospital's combined score in the three elements.

A total of 177 U.S. children's hospitals were eligible for the rankings. Most are members of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), although several non-NACHRI members were added because of known expertise or other factors.

The 2011-12 edition of Best Children's Hospitals and the full methodology are available at the U.S. News & World Report website.