UI Children’s Hospital retains esteemed status across Iowa, nation

IOWA CITY - Even as it maintains its status as the top children's hospital in Iowa and among the nation's best in several specialties, the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital lost some ground in new U.S. News & World Report rankings made public Tuesday.

According to the 2017-2018 rankings, which list the 50 best-performing hospitals in 10 pediatric specialties, six UI Children's Hospital specialties earned elite status - down from eight last year and nine two years ago. Among the university's six ranked specialties this year, four lost ground and two gained.

Still, children's hospital CEO Scott Turner said his organization is proud to be ranked in more than half the assessed specialties.

'I think that's the goal of every program across the country,” Turner said. 'It seems like every year there's even more and more children's hospitals that are seeking designation.”

The new rankings come just months after UI Health Care in February opened a new $360 million, 14-floor, stand-alone children's hospital, which added 134 pediatric beds and 507,000 square feet to the UI Hospitals and Clinics campus. Turner said analysis for the new U.S. News rankings occurred in the 2016 budget year - so it was before the new building opened.

And, Turner said, he expects the new facility to bump up rankings in the next year - especially because patient volume is one factor considered.

'We view the facility as a net positive for the strength of our programs,” he said. 'And hopefully it will be reflected in future releases of the U.S. News & World Report top children's hospital rankings.”

The two UI Children's Hospital specialties that dropped out of the top 50 this year are diabetes and endocrinology, which ranked No. 23 last year, and orthopedics, which ranked No. 35.

The university's pediatric cancer ranking in the new report dipped from 27 to 34; its cardiology rank fell from 30 to 48; its pulmonology rating dropped from 35 to 45; and its urology rank went from 24 to 36.

The UI Children's Hospital gained eight spots in neonatology, moving from 28 to 20. Its nephrology ranking improved from 26 to 21, according to the report.

The pediatric hospital rankings, which U.S. News debuted in 2007 'to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care,” rely on clinical and survey data.

One-third of a hospital's score is tied to outcomes like survival, infections and surgical complications. A hospital's reputation, based on surveys of pediatric specialists, make up another 15 percent. The rest of a score ties to an institution's commitment to patient safety - like through infection minimization and 'family-centerdness.”

UI officials call the U.S. News rankings the 'only comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric centers.” But U.S. News concedes its list should serve only as a starting point for families shopping for care, as high-ranked hospitals aren't always better choices - depending on a patient's specific needs.

'It's a good barometer of how you're measuring up,” Turner said. 'And I think, used appropriately, it has a net positive effect on children's hospital care across the country.”

For the 2017-2018 rankings, U.S. News requested data from 187 facilities, 113 of which turned in enough information to be evaluated in at least one specialty. A total of 82 were ranked in one or more category.

'Scorecards” for ranked specialties offer specific details of how a hospital stacks up - looking, for example, at the percentage of infants receiving at least some form of nutrition from breast milk when they leave the hospital or at a hospital's success at preventing unplanned readmissions.

In its highest-ranked specialty - neonatology - the UI Children's Hospital earned 'excellent” marks for things like tracking growth metrics before discharge; offering advanced clinical services, including a pediatric trauma center; and keeping breathing tubes in place.

'We are honored to continue to be ranked as one of the top children's hospitals in the United States, and the only hospital in Iowa to be nationally ranked for children's health care,” Raphael Hirsch, UI Children's Hospital physician-in-chief and chairman of its Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, said in a news release. 'This recognition is a true testimonial to our expertise in pediatric medicine and our continued commitment to children and their families.”

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