Dr. Rajan Wadhawan (chief medical officer at Florida Hospital for Children), Julie Bennett (NICU mom), Brea Weiss (board chair of the Walt Disney Pavilion), Deborah Spielman (vice president of operations at Florida Hospital for Children), Jocelyn Shaw (chaplain at Florida Hospital for Children.)
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U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, ranked Florida Hospital for Children's neonatology program No. 42 in the nation in the new 2018-19 Best Children's Hospitals rankings released today.
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The 12th annual Best Children's Hospitals rankings recognize the top 50 pediatric facilities across the U.S. in 10 pediatric specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology.
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"Florida Hospital for Children provides the highest quality, most advanced and compassionate care to the children and families we serve, and this first-ever ranking is a recognition of that steadfast commitment," said Daryl Tol, president and CEO of Florida Hospital and the Central Florida Division of Adventist Health System. "Delivering a baby prematurely or having a critically ill child is a very stressful time for parents. Our stellar team of talented nurses, physicians and volunteers -- who care for more than 2,000 babies in our neonatal intensive care unit each year -- demonstrate their compassion and unmatched skill every day."
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"The U.S. News Best Children's Hospitals highlight pediatric centers that deliver state-of-the-art medical care to children with complex conditions," said Ben Harder, Chief of Health Analysis at U.S. News. "Children with life-threatening or rare conditions need the level of quality care that these hospitals deliver day after day."
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U.S. News introduced the Best Children's Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available. They are the only comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals.
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The U.S. News Best Children's Hospitals rankings rely on clinical data and on an annual survey of pediatric specialists. The rankings methodology factors in patient outcomes, such as mortality and infection rates, as well as available clinical resources and compliance with best practices.
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This year's rankings will be published in the U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals 2019" guidebook (ISBN 9781931469906), available in stores late September.
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For more information, visit Best Children's Hospitals for the full rankings and use #BestHospitals on Facebook and Twitter.
