For the past seven years, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center — which operates Cincinnati Children’s Liberty Campus in Liberty Twp. — ranked third in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals ranking. On Tuesday, the publication released its 2018-2019 rankings, which showed Cincinnati Children’s move up one spot to No. 2 in the nation.
“This move ahead in the rankings reflects the passion and dedication of our employees who work tirelessly every day to improve the health of patients and families who come to us for care,” Dr. Steve Davis, chief operating officer, said in a release. “We’ve reached No. 2 in the nation because we put kids first.”
Reaching the No. 2 spot on the list is also a reflection of what goes on at Liberty Campus, according to Dr. Richard Ruddy, that facility’s medical director.
“We represent a microcosm of the much larger campus, and our collaboration at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is excellent, which is important in that medicine is a team endeavor to do our best in improving the outcome for children,” Ruddy said. “This being established at the Liberty Campus further supports us to help families feel at home in the more convenient and accessible environment that we desire at CCHMC.”
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Now in its 12th year, The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings highlight the top 50 pediatric facilities in the nation in 10 specialties.
According to U.S. News, the mission of the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings is to identify hospitals that provide the highest quality care for children with the most serious or complicated medical conditions. Of the 189 surveyed hospitals, 86 were ranked among the top 50 in at least one specialty.
Cincinnati Children’s also ranks first in the pediatric specialties of Cancer and Gastroentrology/GI surgery care, and among the top five pediatric hospitals in nine of 10 specialties: Nephrology (2nd), Neurology & Neurosurgery (2nd), Urology (2nd), Diabetes & Endocrinology (3rd), Pulmonology (3rd), Orthopedics (4th), Neonatology (5th); and Cardiology & Heart Surgery (8th).
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At Cincinnati Children’s Liberty Campus, GI and GI Surgery are “very active,” with most procedures that are common in the region’s children – appendicitis, hernia repairs and some types of bowel obstruction — performed there, Ruddy said. The Liberty Campus also has special interdisciplinary clinics, including colorectal requiring GI, Urology, GYN and General Surgery.
It is common for emergent and elective urology surgery to be carried out at Liberty Campus, as well, he said.
The facility’s cancer division admits inpatients seven days a week and has the ability to admit emergency patients, Ruddy said. It also has had, since late 2016, the added feature of proton therapy for certain cancer treatments, he said.
A pulmonology division is on site five days a week in clinic and has inpatients there seven days a week. Orthopedics has a clinic there five days a week and does both elective and add-on surgery there. neurology & nephrology and diabetes/endocrinology have clinics at Liberty Campus five days a week. The cardiology division has clinics at Liberty Campus many weekdays each month.
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Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center being recognized like this by U.S. News & World Report has a direct effect on its Liberty Twp. counterpart, Ruddy said.
“If patients and families hear about this it can lead to referrals regionally and nationally,” he said. “If we see more patients coming to CCHMC from these referrals … it would lead us to continue to grow our campus and its use.
“We already know that many patients with special problems like the convenience of being able to get to (us), efficiently be treated and get home, not just from families who live near the campus, but often from other parts of our southwest Ohio region.”
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Cincinnati Children’s continuing on a path of excellence is good news not just for the hospital, but for all area residents, according to Liberty Twp. Christine Matacic, one of the elected officials who worked to make the 2008 opening of Liberty Campus a reality.
“When you take at the quality of service … and the research that they’re doing, especially with the Proton Therapy Center here, and the partnerships that they have created, it’s just another example of by partnering and working hard and trying to stay out in front and answering the needs of our community, that they have risen to another level,” Matacic said.
THE RANKINGS
The 2018-19 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
2. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
4. Texas Children’s Hospital
5. Children’s National Medical Center
6. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
7. Nationwide Children’s Hospital
8. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
9. Children’s Hospital Colorado
10. Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
The 2017-18 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll
1. Boston Children’s Hospital
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
4. Texas Children’s Hospital
5. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
6. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
7. Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
7. Nationwide Children’s Hospital
9. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
10. Children’s National Medical Center
Source: U.S. News & World Report
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