Intermountain Press Release

Salt Lake City, UT—Primary Childrens Medical Center was named among the top 10 children's hospitals in the United States following an extensive hospital survey conducted by Child magazine. The results of the survey appear in the February 2003 issue of the magazine.

The results were based on strict criteria and data compiled during the magazine's extensive nine-month investigation.

"This survey is the most detailed and most in-depth we've ever participated in," says Joseph R. Horton, CEO of Primary Children's Medical Center. "The survey focused on outcomes and programs, and it confirms our strong national standing among children's hospitals."

"Parents want to know where the best possible care is available," says Miriam Arond, Child magazine's editor in chief. "In order to identify these top children's hospitals, we followed a comprehensive and rigorous methodology and examined criteria such as survival rates, staff qualifications, Child Life programs, safety issues and much more."

The magazine began its search with 100 hospitals who were members of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. Child magazine then narrowed the field to 54 hospitals, based on each hospital's evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), an agency that visits each hospital and grades on medication use, anesthesia care, infection control, and more.

All 54 semifinalists then received a detailed 72-question survey developed in conjunction with a team of advisers engaged especially for this project. The survey covered survival rates, staff qualifications, nurse-to-patient ratios, and comforts such as Child Life specialists who use toys and games to ease a patient's fears. The inquiry was then expanded to include safety issues such as avoidance of medical errors and specific data on three key departments of any hospital – the oncology program, neonatal intensive care unit, and the heart center.

According to the survey, the ten best U.S. pediatric hospitals ranked in order are:

1. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2. Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
3. Rainbow Babies & Childrenss Hospital, Cleveland, OH
4. Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX
5. University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI
6. St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO
7. Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC
8. Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, Kansas City, MO
9. Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA
10. Primary Children's Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT

"Primary Children's / Intermountain Health Care and the physicians from the University of Utah Department of Pediatrics and Surgery form a strong partnership to provide outstanding health care, education, research and advocacy in Utah and throughout the Intermountain West," says Edward B. Clark, MD, medical director of PCMC.

Primary Children's Medical Center is a 232-bed facility serving children in five states – Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Montana. It is owned by Intermountain Health Care, a charitable, community-owned, nonprofit health care organization based in Salt Lake City. Primary Children's Medical Center partners with the Department of Pediatrics and Surgery at the University of Utah to integrate pediatric programs, research and training for childhood problems.