MUSC Children’s Hospital is once again the only such institution in South Carolina to be ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 2018-19 edition of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.” The latest rankings are published online at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings.

The leading specialties for MUSC Children’s Hospital are: No. 11 for cardiology and heart surgery; No. 29 for nephrology; No. 50 for urology; No. 25 for cancer; No. 45 for gastroenterology and GI surgery; and No. 43 for orthopedics. MUSC Children’s Hospital also had six specialties named in 2016 and 2017.

Newcomers to the list this year include orthopedics, which was recognized for quality of care, strong clinical outcomes, and survival rates. In addition, the cardiology and heart surgery programs now sit one spot away from the top 10 programs in the country. Cardiology and heart surgery, cancer, gastroenterology and GI surgery, urology, and nephrology continued strong showings for this ranking period.

“We are proud to announce that for the third year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has recognized six of our pediatric specialties. During that same time period, we had eight out of ten pediatric specialty areas ranked by this organization landing in the top 50 programs in the country,” said Mark A. Scheurer, M.D., MUSC Children’s Health chief of clinical services. “Prior to these last three years, there were only three specialties recognized, so this is a great honor for us, and clearly a result of our commitment to the highest level of performance. Our teams provide this excellence on a daily basis, steadfast in our focus on consistent, comprehensive, and patient- and family-centered care.”

The 12th annual rankings highlight the top 50 U.S. pediatric hospitals in each of 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. In the 2018-19 rankings, 86 of the 189 hospitals surveyed were ranked in at least one of the 10 specialties.

"MUSC Children’s Health and our Children’s Hospital care team members have been consistently cited by this organization and many others for the incredible care they are delivering every day,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and University vice president for health affairs. “I have no doubt that the biggest validation they receive comes from helping those they serve, but these annual rankings certainly confirm that collectively we are changing what’s possible for our patients and their families. I get so energized thinking about what these amazing care team members are going to be able to accomplish when they move into the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital on the peninsula and the new pediatric ambulatory services center in North Charleston next year. Keep your eye on this team, because they are poised to take the state’s most comprehensive children’s health system to new and unprecedented heights."