Columbus Childrens Hospital Ranks 12th in U.S. News & World Reports 2007 Edition of Americas Best Childrens Hospitals

Columbus Childrens Hospital has ranked 12th on U.S. News & World Reports list of Americas Best Childrens Hospitals, moving up an impressive 10 places from 2006. For the first time, the pediatrics ranking is separate from the adult specialty listings and published in a separate issue of U.S. News & World Report.

In addition, while U.S. Newss previous pediatric hospital rankings were based on reputation alone, this expanded version is based on a new and improved methodology, which weighed a three-part mix of reputation, death rate, and such care-related factors as volume, nursing care, advanced technology and recognition by outside organizations.

Steve Allen, MD, chief executive officer for Columbus Children's Hospital, said this latest national recognition is reflective of transformational progress throughout the institution.

Making this list of the best childrens hospitals serves as validation of our steadfast pursuit of transforming healthcare, said Allen. Childrens aspiration to provide the best care for our children is the soul of this institution. This ranking will spur us to improve on our already well deserved reputation for superior clinical outcomes, innovations in family centered care and ground breaking research.

To be eligible for this years rankings, a medical facility had to be classified by the National Association of Childrens Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) as a freestanding childrens hospital or as a childrens hospital within a hospital a large, multidisciplinary pediatric service within a medical center. Of the 122 childrens hospitals that met this standard as of March 2007, 113 responded to a U.S. News survey asking for data and statistics on a variety of procedures such as the number of bone marrow transplants and difficult heart operations performed. A detailed description of the methodology can be found online at http://www.health.usnews.com/pediatrics.

Since launching our annual rankings of hospitals in 1990, the demand for facilities dedicated to the unique needs of children has changed dramatically, said Avery Comarow, a senior writer with U.S. News & World Report who has been editor of the Americas Best Hospitals annual rankings since their inception. Improving the usefulness and relevance of the rankings in this important specialty has been a longstanding goal of the magazine. We hope that parents and caregivers will find this special report helpful when seeking out medical attention for their child.

Columbus Childrens adds the U.S. News national ranking to a growing list of recognitions including: the first freestanding childrens hospital in Ohio to receive Magnet Recognition (the highest honor for excellence in nursing) by the American Nurses Credentialing Center of the American Nurses Association; ranked as a top 10 childrens hospital and first place in the U.S. for providing outstanding pediatric emergency medical care according to Child magazines Best Childrens Hospitals 2006 survey; ranked among the Top Hospitals in The Leapfrog Groups 2006 list; ranked among Americas leading non-profits on the Philanthropy 400 list; and named as one of the three Best Places to Work among large employers in Columbus Business Firsts Best Places to Work Survey.

The exclusive data will be published in the magazines September 3 issue, on newsstands Monday, August 27, and is available online August 24 at http://www.health.usnews.com/pediatrics.

Columbus Childrens Hospital is one of the nations largest pediatric healthcare networks providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children, adolescents and adult patients with congenital disease. A medical staff of nearly 900 and a hospital staff of 6,000 provide state-of-the-art pediatric care for more than 700,000 patient visits annually. Childrens houses the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Ohios first Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. Columbus Children's Research Institute is one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More than 75,000 consumers receive health and wellness education each year and affiliation agreements with nearly 100 institutions allow more than 1,700 students and 500 residents to receive training at Childrens. The preferred pediatric provider in central Ohio since 1892, Columbus Children's Hospital was the recipient in June 2006 of a $50 million philanthropic gift from Nationwide Foundation. In honor of this transformational philanthropy, the institution will be rededicated as Nationwide Childrens Hospital September 24, 2007. More information is available by calling (614) 722-KIDS (5437) or through www.columbuschildrens.com.