Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is moving up. For the fourth year in a row, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named to the elite Honor Roll of children’s hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report rankings released online today. This year, the hospital is ranked fifth in the nation, up three places from last year’s survey of Best Children’s Hospitals.

“This recognition by U.S. News & World Report acknowledges that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a national leader in health care for children,” says Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, President and CEO, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “Our successful transition to our new $636 million, 317-bed inpatient tower, the Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion, is a testament to the resiliency of our doctors, nurses, clinical staff and physician support team that helped to contribute to this institution’s top five ranking.”

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Only 12 children’s hospitals in the United States achieved Honor Roll status for 2012-13, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the only hospital in California to receive this recognition. The national magazine reviews children’s hospitals annually for their clinical quality and patient outcomes in 10 different medical specialties and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was ranked

high in all 10 categories, and its outstanding scores in six of those specialties placed it among the top five nationally. The hospital has been selected to the Honor Roll every year since this esteemed list launched in 2009, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named among the nation’s best children’s hospitals annually since the inception of the magazine’s rankings in 1990.

This year, the hospital equaled or improved its national ranking in six of the 10 categories compared to the 2011-2012 survey. The hospital achieved elite Honor Roll status because it received exceptional scores in at least three pediatric specialties. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles rankings in all 10 specialty categories rated were: Cancer #5; Cardiology & Heart Surgery #8; Diabetes & Endocrinology #7; Gastroenterology #7; Neonatology #7; Nephrology #22; Neurology & Neurosurgery #18; Orthopedics #6; Pulmonology #14 and Urology #12.

“Children’s Hospital Los Angeles provides the best possible care for the children in our community,” says Cordova. “This is a reflection of the excellent work of our Board of Trustees and our Safety and Quality Services Committee. In addition, our philanthropic efforts contribute mightily to our success and allow us to recruit the finest faculty and physicians to support our pediatric research and clinical missions. This acknowledgement from U.S. News & World Report is a tribute to all of their exceptional efforts.”

When the new Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion opened last July, the inpatient tower was designed with a priority on family-centered care. Eighty-five percent of the rooms are private and include accommodations so parents can stay overnight comfortably with their child. The Anderson Pavilion is among the nation’s most advanced pediatric care facilities, and its opening established a new era for the hospital that has been providing the highest quality pediatric care to the community for 111 years.

In addition to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the prestigious list of national Honor Roll hospitals for 2012-13 includes: Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colo., Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore and St. Louis Children’s Hospital-Washington University.

The Best Children’s Hospitals list pulls together clinical and operational data from a lengthy survey, completed by the majority of the 178 pediatric centers asked to participate in the rankings. This year, U.S. News required hard data such as availability of key resources and ability to prevent complications and infections. The survey also asked hundreds of questions about survival rates, nurse staffing, subspecialist availability, procedure volume and many more pieces of critical information. The data from the survey is combined with recommendations from pediatric specialists on the hospitals they consider best for children with challenging medical conditions.

The new rankings recognize the top 50 children’s hospitals in 10 pediatric specialties. Eighty hospitals are ranked in at least one specialty. U.S. News Media Group, the parent of U.S. News & World Report, announced the hospital rankings at 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, June 5 at: www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

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