Children's ranks high on US News list

Children's Hospital Boston took two top honors on US News & World Report ratings of pediatric hospital specialties released this morning. Massachusetts General Hospital for Children placed lower in the rankings of specialty care at 30 hospitals, compiled from pediatrician surveys and hospital data.

Children's placed first in two of seven categories of care: digestive disorders and heart care and heart surgery, the magazine said. It came in second on general pediatrics, cancer, and neurology and neurosurgery; third in neonatal care; and fourth in respiratory disorders.

Mass. General's children's center was rated 21st in general pediatrics, 27th in digestive disorders, 16th in neonatal care, and 17th in respiratory disorders. It did not finish in the top 30 for the other three specialties.

The specialty rankings were based on reputation, outcomes, and other measures such as nursing care and advanced technology. Last fall Children's came in second, behind Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, in a different US News list of pediatric hospitals that included data on mortality, nurse staffing, and advanced care.

In the current rankings, Boston Children's and the Philadelphia hospital flip between first and second place in four categories. Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore is the only other first-place finisher, in neurology and neurosurgery.