U.S. News & World Report has ranked University of Iowa Children's Hospital in eight out of ten specialty areas in its 2014-15 Best Children's Hospitals listings.

UI Children’s Hospital ranked in cancer (42); cardiology and heart surgery (45); diabetes and endocrinology (42); neonatology (30); nephrology (20); neurology and neurosurgery (26); orthopedics (32); and pulmonology (46).

The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings highlight U.S. News’s top 50 U.S. pediatric facilities in cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterologyand gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. Eighty-nine hospitals ranked in at least one specialty, based on a combination of clinical data and reputation with pediatric specialists.

“We are honored to be ranked again as one of the top children’s hospitals in the country, and the only hospital in Iowa to be nationally ranked for children’s health care,” says Raphael Hirsch, physician-in-chief of UI Children’s Hospital and chair and department executive officer of the UI Stead Family Department of Pediatrics.

“This ranking reflects the dedication and determination of our team and their expertise. Many of the families we care for are on a journey they didn’t plan on, and it’s rewarding to know that we can be there for them at a time when they need us most. Everyone who interacts with the families loves what they do and cares deeply about children.”

U.S. News introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of sick children find the best medical care available. The rankings open the door to an array of detailed information about each hospital’s performance.

Five-sixths of each hospital’s score relied on patient outcomes and the care-related resources each hospital makes available. To gather clinical data, U.S. News sent a clinical questionnaire to 183 pediatric hospitals. The remaining one-sixth of the score derived from a survey of 450 pediatric specialists and subspecialists in each specialty over three years. The 4,500 physicians were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty, setting aside location and expense.

“Every Best Children’s Hospital deserves high praise,” says U.S. News Health Rankings editor Avery Comarow. “We know how important it is to parents to have confidence in pediatric centers that show dedication and expertise in caring for a child facing a life-threatening, rare or demanding illness.”

Survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, procedure volume and much more can be viewed hereand will be published in the U.S. News “Best Hospitals 2015” guidebook, which will be available in August.