Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has been ranked as the best children’s hospital in the United States by US News & World Report, dethroning Boston Children’s Hospital from the No. 1 spot.
The rankings, which were released on Tuesday, are based on a combination of clinical data and expert opinions from pediatric specialists across the country. The report evaluated 193 hospitals in 10 specialties, such as cancer, cardiology, neonatology and orthopedics.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital excelled in eight out of 10 specialties, ranking first in cancer, gastroenterology, nephrology and urology. It also ranked second in neurology, orthopedics and pulmonology, and third in cardiology.
The hospital’s president and CEO, Michael Fisher, said he was proud of the recognition and praised the staff for their dedication and innovation.
“This honor reflects the relentless pursuit of excellence by our entire team to improve outcomes and transform care for children and families here in our community and around the world,” he said in a statement.
However, the rankings come amid legal scrutiny for US News & World Report, which is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who claims he was fired for exposing flaws in the methodology of the report.
According to the lawsuit, filed in May by Wael Barsoum, a former editor of the report, US News & World Report manipulated data, ignored errors and conflicts of interest, and pressured hospitals to pay for advertising and consulting services in exchange for favorable rankings.
The lawsuit also alleges that US News & World Report failed to disclose that some of the experts who rated the hospitals had financial ties to them, creating a potential bias.
US News & World Report has denied the allegations and said it stands by its rankings.
“We are confident that our hospital rankings are produced with integrity and objectivity,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at US News & World Report, said in a statement. “We look forward to defending ourselves against these baseless claims.”
