U.S. News & World Report has ranked University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City in nine specialties in the new 2015-16 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. UI Children’s Hospital is the only hospital nationally ranked for pediatric care in Iowa.

UI Children’s Hospital is ranked in cancer (47); cardiology and heart surgery (30); diabetes and endocrinology (26); neonatology (23); nephrology (26); neurology and neurosurgery (49); orthopaedics (45); pulmonology (49); and urology (24).

"We are pleased that our pediatric team is receiving this well-deserved recognition," says Raphael Hirsch, physician-in-chief of UI Children’s Hospital. "They are at the top of our profession, and Iowa families can be confident their children are in the best of hands when they come here."

A new UI Children’s Hospital will be completed in 2016.

"Our new facility will provide a healing environment that will match the quality of care and compassionate service being delivered today," says Scott Turner, executive director of UI Children’s Hospital. "The spirit and courage of so many children and families who face debilitating disease or devastating trauma has truly inspired the construction of our new hospital, which will stand as a hallmark of children's health and well-being for decades to come." 

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

Most of each hospital’s score relied on patient outcomes and care-related resources. U.S. News garnered clinical data from a detailed questionnaire sent to 184 pediatric hospitals. A sixth of the score came from annual surveys of pediatric specialists and subspecialists in each specialty in 2013, 2014 and 2015. They were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty, setting aside considerations of location and expense.

Survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, procedure volume, and much more can be viewed on http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings.