For the third year in a row — and for the fourth time in the last six years — Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital is again ranked among the nation’s best children’s hospitals, per U.S. News and World Report.

“This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our highly skilled and caring faculty and staff who put patients first every day, and who are committed to providing nothing less than the best care for children,” said Dr. Craig Hillemeier, the medical director of Hershey Children’s Hospital.

Hershey Children’s Hospital now ranks nationally in five specialties: Pediatric Cancer (#35), Cardiology and Heart Surgery (#44), Neurology and Neurosurgery (#35), Orthopedics (#39), and Urology (#35). Of particular note is Hershey’s “Pediatric Cancer” ranking for 2013, which moved up five spots to #35 from #40 in 2012.

To create its rankings, U.S. News collected clinical data via surveys of 179 selected pediatric hospitals, which were scored based on the hospitals’ performances in three areas: clinical outcomes, efficiency and coordination of care delivery, and care-related resources. The rankings also include a reputational component, in which 150 specialists and subspecialists in ten specialties named “up to 10 hospitals they consider best for children with serious or difficult problems without regard to price or location.”

For instance, Hershey Children’s Hospital’s cancer care scores modestly in the reputational component, with just 1.1% of responding specialists naming Hershey “among the best for the most difficult cases in their specialty”.  However, Hershey posts stellar scores in several “clinical outcomes” categories (such as “bone marrow transplant survival” or “prevention of pressure ulcers”) and in almost every “care-related resources” category.

We at Onward State congratulate Hershey Children’s Hospital on its achievement. Also, embedded below is a video by Penn State Hershey celebrating its five nationally ranked specialties.