See California's Best Children’s Hospitals In U.S. News Ranking

LOS ANGELES, CA — California has two children's hospitals — Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford — that made the U.S. News and World Report’s inaugural list of the 10 best children’s hospitals in the nation.

U.S. News included a state-by-state ranking in its list of the nation’s best children’s hospitals for the first time when it released its 2021 rankings on Tuesday, listing Children's Hospital Los Angeles first; Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford second; UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, San Francisco and Oakland and Rady Children's Hospital tied for third; CHOC Children's Hospital and Valley Children's Healthcare and Hospital tied for fifth; UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital seventh; UC Davis Children's Hospital eighth; and Loma Linda University Children's Hospital and MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach tied for ninth; and Shriners Hospitals for Children-Northern California tenth.

“This year’s new state and regional rankings can help families identify conveniently local hospitals capable of meeting their child’s needs,” Ben Harder, managing editor for U.S. News, said in a news release. “As the pandemic continues to affect travel, finding high-quality care close to home has never been more important.”

U.S. News’ top-ranked children’s hospitals were also sorted by region this year. All rankings were found through a clinical survey sent to about 200 hospitals nationwide and another survey that included input from more than 100 pediatric medical experts, U.S. News said.

Specifically, researchers looked at three categories — clinical outcomes, coordination of care and care-related resources — in determining the rankings. All data used in the rankings came from before the coronavirus outbreak became a pandemic, according to U.S. News.

In the mid-Atlantic region, the top children’s hospital is Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is the highest ranked in the Midwest; Boston Children’s Hospital in New England; Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in the Pacific region; Children’s Hospital Colorado in the Rocky Mountains; and a tie between Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital of Vanderbilt in the Southeast and Texas Children’s Hospital in the Southwest.

Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, California, also made the U.S. News children’s hospital honor roll.

The nation’s top children’s hospitals in specific specialties were also listed. Texas Children’s Hospital earned the top spot in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in pediatric cancer and Children’s National Hospital in neonatology.