How U.S. News Ranks Children's Hospitals—and What Parents Should Know

Every year, U.S. News & World Report releases its Best Children's Hospitals rankings—but what do those rankings actually tell families?

In this episode, Katie Taylor, CCLS, speaks with Jennifer Winston, senior health data scientist at U.S. News & World Report, about how the rankings are built, what the scores measure and how parents can use them without over-reading small differences between hospitals.

Jennifer explains the role of clinical outcomes, hospital resources and care practices in the rankings, along with how parent feedback is incorporated into the methodology. Katie brings in the child life perspective, asking where psychosocial support, interpreter services, family involvement and emotional safety fit into the definition of excellent pediatric care.

They also explore an important question for families: Is traveling to a nationally ranked hospital always better, or can receiving care closer to home sometimes matter more?

What you'll learn

• How the Best Children's Hospitals rankings have evolved from clinician surveys into a data-heavy model involving more than 1,000 data points across 11 pediatric specialties

• The three primary scoring categories: hospital resources, delivery of care and best practices, and clinical outcomes

• Why the outcomes being measured vary by specialty

• How child life specialists, social workers, interpreter services and parent participation are represented in the rankings

• How feedback from parents and patient advocates reaches the teams shaping the methodology

• What it means for a hospital to make the national Honor Roll

• Why a move from No. 15 to No. 20 may represent only a very small difference in score

• When traveling for highly ranked care may be helpful—and when proximity to home matters

• How families can use regional rankings, state rankings and hospital scorecards to look beyond one overall number

• Why increased hospital participation may signal a growing commitment to transparency

Explore the rankings

View the official U.S. News Best Children's Hospitals rankings.

Parents can also search for pediatric hospitals and care by location or specialty.

Rather than relying only on a hospital's overall rank, families can explore individual specialty rankings and hospital scorecards to learn more about outcomes, staffing, available services and other factors that may matter for their child.

Episode timestamps

• 00:00 — Katie opens with the show's purpose and introduces Jennifer Winston

• 00:17 — Jennifer shares her role at U.S. News and her background in medical geography

• 02:15 — How the Best Children's Hospitals rankings have evolved

• 03:59 — The three-part methodology behind the rankings

• 05:00 — How clinical outcomes differ by specialty

• 06:09 — What the Honor Roll means

• 07:00 — Katie explains child life and family-centered support

• 08:57 — Where child life, social work and parent involvement fit in the scoring

• 11:56 — How parent feedback reaches the methodology team

• 13:34 — Should families travel for ranked care or stay closer to home?

• 14:18 — Using regional and state rankings to find care nearby

• 15:26 — Regional differences in access to pediatric specialty care

• 16:22 — How different are hospitals ranked No. 15 and No. 20?

• 17:29 — What hospitals can learn from higher-ranked programs

• 19:23 — How children's hospital rankings differ from maternity rankings

• 21:02 — Maternity care deserts and access to care

• 21:58 — Do children's healthcare deserts exist?

• 23:39 — Why outcomes, best practices and resources remain central

• 24:47 — What parents can ask for when their child is unexpectedly hospitalized

• 26:56 — Why growing hospital participation is encouraging

• 28:08 — Closing thoughts

Notable quotes

"We really do rely on the experts who are on these working groups to help us make those decisions."

"These are all hospitals that are providing great-quality care."

"It's important for families who need information."

About Inside the Children's Hospital

Inside the Children's Hospital shares what families lived, what they learned and what they want you to know. Hosted by Katie Taylor, a certified child life specialist, the podcast helps families better understand pediatric healthcare and feel more prepared to participate in their child's care.

Medical disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always speak with your child's healthcare team about questions or decisions related to their care.