Golisano Children’s Hospital One of Nation’s Best for Pediatric Orthopaedics
Golisano Children's Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has been ranked 25th in Pediatric Orthopaedics in U.S.News & World Report's 2009 edition of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals. The annual survey was sent to 160 pediatric institutions nationwide.
URMC has recently focused on expanding orthopaedic services to children. In 2005, the hospital opened a pediatric intensive care unit that made it possible to care for children with the most complicated orthopaedic conditions, and in 2008, it hired a new chief of Pediatric Orthopaedics who specializes in correcting scoliosis and severe spinal deformities.
“We are delighted that Golisano Children's Hospital has been recognized nationally for the expert care we are known for regionally,” said Nina F. Schor, M.D., Ph.D., chair of URMC’s Department of Pediatrics and pediatrician-in-chief of Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong. “We are able to provide this top-notch care because of the collaboration among the departments of Orthopaedics and Pediatrics, the pediatric intensive care unit, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Ronald McDonald House and the community.”
Golisano Children's Hospital is a hospital within a hospital at URMC. The hospital serves more than 70,000 children from the 17-county Finger Lakes Region and beyond every year – both as inpatients and outpatients. It houses 124 beds and 34 pediatric specialties and subspecialties, including Pediatric Orthopaedics.
“Our recruitment of Dr. James Sanders as chief of Pediatric Orthopaedics two years ago represented an important collaboration that included the Medical Center, the Department of Orthopaedics, the Department of Pediatrics and the community to make the Rochester area a leading center for pediatric musculoskeletal health in the United States,” said Regis J. O'Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the URMC’s Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. “The pediatric orthopaedic team has enhanced musculoskeletal health for children throughout the region. We are extremely excited about this recognition of their outstanding care.”
Sanders, a nationally recognized expert in pediatric orthopaedic disorders and spinal deformity, including scoliosis, expanded an already exemplary pediatric orthopaedic team, including Gary Tebor, M.D., and Paul Rubery, M.D. Many faculty from URMC’s Department of Orthopaedics contribute to pediatric orthopaedic work as well, including Sports Medicine, Oncology, Orthopaedic Trauma, Foot and Ankle and the Hand and Upper Extremity Divisions.
URMC is home to one of the largest, most comprehensive orthopaedic practices in the region. More than three dozen board-certified or board-qualified doctors cover every subspecialty of orthopaedics, from spine and sports medicine, to foot and ankle to joint replacement. Each year, faculty provide care to more than 160,000 patients, making the orthopaedic clinic one of the nation’s busiest. The faculty’s clinical expertise is matched by a strong orthopaedic research program, and in fact is the largest in the country as measured by National Institutes of Health funding.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings were published online at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals today and will be featured in the August issue of U.S.News & World Report, available on newsstands starting July 21. The 2009 America's Best Children's Hospitals is the most extensive listing of its kind, ranking pediatric hospitals in 10 specialties, including orthopaedics. The last time Golisano Children's Hospital ranked was 2003.
The methodology behind this year’s rankings weighed a three-part blend of reputation, outcome, and care-related measures such as nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing and other factors. The hospitals were judged based on a combination of opinions from pediatric specialists about the hospitals they would recommend for the sickest children and data gathered in a 65-page survey covering important medical information ranging from surgical death rates to whether pediatric anesthesiologists and other subspecialists are on the staff. A detailed description of the methodology can be found at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.
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