Primary Children’s Hospital Once Again Highly Ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s Rankings of Best Children’s Hospitals in America

Note: After the initial release of its Best Children’s Hospitals in America rankings, U.S. News & World Report corrected the rankings of three hospitals, including Primary Children’s Hospital, due to an error in a data transfer procedure. As a result, Primary Children’s Neurology and Neurosurgery rose by one spot, and is now ranked 17th in the nation. The information below reflects this change.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital as one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals in eight specialties — with three specialties moving up into the top 25 in the nation, and one tied for first in patient outcomes — according to the publication’s new 2020-2021 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings published online today. 

“We are pleased with the overall rankings for Primary Children’s Hospital – and especially proud that patient outcomes for neurology and neurosurgery services tied for No. 1 in the nation,” Primary Children’s Administrator Dustin Lipson said. “This helps to illustrate our commitment to putting The Child First and Always, by providing top-tier care for children and continually striving to improve the experiences of our patients.” 

U.S. News & World Report ranks the top 50 children’s hospitals in 10 specialties. This year, Primary Children’s Hospital, in partnership with University of Utah Health, is ranked in eight specialties, with three ranked the nation’s top 25:

Neurology and Neurosurgery is ranked 17th in the nation. Within this ranking are criteria for patient outcomes, for which Primary Children’s Neurology and Neurosurgery tied for No. 1 in the nation. Each year, neurology and neurosurgery experts at Primary Children’s treat more than 11,000 patients, perform more than 500 neurosurgeries and 300 spine surgeries, and use trans-magnetic brain mapping, robotics, and laser ablation to reduce invasive surgery and shorten hospital stays for children with tumors or epilepsy. 

Primary Children’s Cancer program is ranked 23rd in the nation. On the patient outcomes portion of this ranking, the Primary Children’s Cancer program ranked No. 6 in the nation. Cancer care specialists at Primary Children’s use cutting edge genetics to provide the best treatment possible for patients. They also are part of groundbreaking national studies, including the revolutionary CAR-T cell therapy for children with high-risk leukemia.

Orthopedics — a joint recognition in partnership with Shriners Hospitals for Children – Salt Lake City – ranked 24th in the nation. Orthopedics also ranked No. 13 in the country for its reputation among other pediatric orthopedic specialists. The orthopedic program’s surgeons at Primary Children’s create innovative devices used throughout the world to help children with spine and limb malformations. 

Primary Children’s was also ranked in five other pediatric specialties: 

• Urology (ranked 33rd)
• Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders (ranked 35th)
• Nephrology (ranked 43rd)
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery (ranked 44th)
• Gastroenterology and GI surgery (ranked 46th).

U.S. News & World Report first 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 publication’s rankings also include pulmonology and neonatal care specialties.

Primary Children’s rankings have been highly recognized for the past several years. 

“Primary Children’s is dedicated to high-quality, compassionate care for children, and the notion of continuous improvement is in the DNA here,” said Angelo P. Giardino, MD, PhD, Chair of the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and Chief Medical Officer at Primary Children’s Hospital. “All of our caregivers aspire to give their best each day, and as an institution, we aspire to be one of the nation’s best.” 

Primary Children’s is part of Intermountain Healthcare, a nationally recognized not-for-profit healthcare system based in Utah, and serves as the pediatric specialty teaching hospital for the University of Utah School of Medicine, combining research, training and excellent care to provide the best health care for children.

The rankings methodology considers clinical outcomes, such as mortality and infection rates, efficiency and coordination of care delivery, and compliance with best practices. This year’s rankings will be published in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2021” guidebook and available in bookstores in late September. 

Visit the U.S. News Best Children’s Hospitals website for the full rankings and methodology.

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B roll of Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital can be found here: https://securedrop.intermountain.net/securedrop/public.php?service=files&t=10dc2f47331c144edf457d80f990ea10&path=.