ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital has been ranked among the best pediatric hospitals in the nation in U.S. News Media Group's 2009 edition of "America's Best Children's Hospitals." It is also the only hospital in the state to be nationally ranked in eight pediatric specialty areas of ten featured in this special report.

The rankings are featured in the August issue of U.S. News & World Report, available on newsstands starting July 21. Mott ranks 4th in heart and heart surgery, 11th in kidney care, 11th in orthopedics, and ranks among the nation's best for the pediatric specialties of cancer, diabetes, digestive disorders, neonatal care and respiratory disorders.

"Recognition that our C.S. Mott Children's Hospital ranked so highly in several key clinical areas is reassuring," says Patricia A. Warner, MPH, Associate Hospital Director and Chief Administrative Officer, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital. "We truly are a state and national resource for children that require speciality services."
The 2009 America's Best Children's Hospitals, the most extensive listing of its kind, ranks hospitals in the areas of cancer, diabetes and endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders, neonatal care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, respiratory disorders, and urology.

The methodology behind this year's rankings weighed a three-part blend of reputation, outcome, and care-related measures such as nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing, and other factors. The hospitals were judged based on a combination of opinions from pediatric specialists about the hospitals they would recommend for the sickest children and data gathered in a 65-page survey covering important medical information ranging from surgical death rates to whether pediatric anesthesiologists and other sub specialists are on the staff. A detailed description of the methodology can be found at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

Ranking-eligible facilities were largely drawn from two membership categories of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI): freestanding children's hospitals, or "hospitals within a hospital" (large, multidisciplinary pediatric departments within a medical center). Several non-NACHRI members were added because of known expertise or at the recommendation of experts.

Of the 160 children's hospitals invited to complete the 65-page survey, 98 responded. The survey was created and administered by RTI International, the same respected research organization that collects the data and oversees the methodology behind the adult Best Hospitals rankings.

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