U.S. News & World Report has named Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU one of the nation’s best hospitals for kids in eight out of 10 pediatric specialties – the most since the Best Children’s Hospital rankings were established 17 years ago. The publication’s 2023-24 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings were released today.
“Our health system teams put the needs of patients first – and when it comes to Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, that means creating an all-inclusive space to address children’s’ health care and families’ needs in a comprehensive way,” said Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU and VCU Health. “I’m proud to see that work recognized. Pediatric subspecialty care is vitally important, and our pediatric experts are the best in providing the best care possible, creating hope and a brighter future for the children and families of Richmond and beyond.”
Our rankings include nephrology (#26), pulmonology (#26), neurology & neurosurgery (#33), urology (#33), gastroenterology (#36), cancer (#37), diabetes & endocrinology (#41) and neonatology (#49). CHoR is also rated among the top 10 children’s hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic region, which encompasses Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia.
“We’re beyond proud to be a full-service, comprehensive children’s hospital for kids and families from Virginia and beyond,” said Elias Neujahr, MHA, MBA, CHoR president. “These U.S. News rankings demonstrate that when families come to CHoR, they’re getting care that is among the best in the country – and our continued advancement in these rankings speaks to the priority we place on delivering quality, safe and innovative care for children every day.”
The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings are designed to provide families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses with data-driven guidance to find quality medical care. U.S. News, together with RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and consulting firm, collected and analyzed data from 119 children’s hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists. Children’s hospitals awarded a “best” designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care and expert opinion among pediatric specialists.
“The Troutmans traveled across state lines for a groundbreaking infusion to delay the onset of diabetes, while Maydelin Juarez’s family relocated from Guatemala for a critical kidney transplant – two examples of the thousands of families who turn to CHoR when their children’s lives depend on it,” said Shari Barkin, M.D., physician-in-chief of CHoR and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at VCU School of Medicine. “The bedrock of this extraordinary care is a combination of clinical experts who are continually investigating and implementing enhanced pediatric treatment options, and team members who are devoted to providing nurturing support for our patients and families.”
Our teams care for kids with injuries and illnesses ranging from common to complex, serving more than 70,000 families last year from across the commonwealth, nearly all 50 states and outside the United States. Earlier this year, we opened the Children’s Tower, our new 16-story home for pediatric inpatient, emergency and trauma care.
Patient care, education and research is a team sport that includes staff and families. It takes a great team to deliver excellence. It takes the Society of Pediatric Nephrology (our peers) to recognize what excellence we deliver. We are honored by this ongoing recognition. -Dr. Timothy Bunchman
The ranking criteria by USNWR are developed by our peers nationally who have provided a thoughtful framework for how to determine quality of care for the different pediatric subspecialties. The specialists at CHoR have all worked hard over the years to make the best possible medical care available to the children of Central Virginia and beyond. USNWR recognition confirms our successes and encourages us to work even harder as we enter a new era of pediatric care with the completion of our freestanding Children’s Tower. -Dr. Michael Schechter
It’s an honor to be included in the rankings. It’s a tribute to the teamwork and dedication of all of us at CHoR who work hard day in and day out to provide the best care possible. This helps reaffirm the trust the families have placed in us to take care of their children. -Dr. Gary Tye
It is an honor to belong in the top 50 pediatric hematology and oncology programs. This is a national badge of honor reflecting our clinical excellence and patient safety. It takes a village to achieve this status and multiple teams have been involved in this effort, including the emergency department, infectious disease, primary care and administration to name a few. Our team continues to strive for innovative therapies in cancer (immunotherapies), stem cell transplantation (gene therapies and CAR T cell) and sickle cell disease (new clinical trials). The Children’s Tower puts us on the trajectory for further success and we are happy that our colleagues are also getting recognized by U.S. News & World Report. -Dr. Joseph Laver
It is an honor to be named one of the nation’s best pediatric gastroenterology programs and a wonderful recognition of the level of expert and compassionate care that the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology has achieved over the past years to serve every child with gastrointestinal disorders in Central Virginia and beyond, but also provide state-of the-art interdisciplinary programs to children and adolescents with complex pancreatic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, anorectal malformations and neuro-gastroenterology disorders. The USNWR recognition reflects the years of hard work the entire GI team has performed as we enter now a new phase in the freestanding Children’s Tower. For our families in Central Virginia, this recognition reflects the top quality of care your children get when they visit pediatric GI. We feel honored that you have chosen us for the care of your child. -Dr. Gisela Chelimsky
It is an honor to be named one of the nation’s best neonatology programs and a wonderful recognition of the level of expert, compassionate care for high-risk infants who need specialized medical and surgical neonatal level IV critical care. For our families and colleagues in Virginia, this designation highlights the expertise of high-quality neonatal critical care close to home from a team of caring professionals. This designation is very meaningful as it reflects the CHoR neonatology team’s commitment to care and quality excellence in providing the most advanced medical and surgical treatments for our tiniest high-risk infants. -Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz
Recent years have seen the city of Richmond and the greater metropolitan area transform from an older traditional city of the south to a vibrant diverse community as we grow, attracting people from all backgrounds and regions. There has been an underlying excitement that is palpable for the future in the new opportunities. Likewise, we who take care of the children of the Greater Richmond area and more broadly through the Commonwealth are embarking on a new era with the opening of our dedicated inpatient tower. Good teams do not happen by accident but rather a coming together of people unified by the common goals of the care of children, building upon the dreams and vision of those who preceded us. It is humbling that our efforts have been recognized by colleagues nationally. -Dr. Lawrence Morton
This ranking is a testament to the commitment of our team to access, quality and safety with respect to all patients in need of pediatric urologic care. Furthermore, it signifies that we equally have strong collaboration with our colleagues with whom we share mutual patients such as pediatric nephrology. -Dr. Tony Herndon
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