Parents magazine names C.S. Mott Children's Hospital among top 10 in U.S.

Parents magazine has named the University of Michigan Health System's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital among the top 10 children's hospitals in the country, officials announced Monday morning.

The hospital moved its operations to a brand-new $754 million, 1.1 million-square-foot facility in December 2011 -- an expansion of research, specialty services and patient amenities that administrators say garnered them a top spot on the Parents magazine list at number eight:

• 1. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• 2. Boston Children’s Hospital
• 3. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
• 4. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• 5. Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora
• 6. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
• 7. Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston
• 8. University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Ann Arbor
• 9. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
• 10. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Prior to opening the new facility, Mott's ranking on the Parents magazine list was in the upper 20s and lower 30s, said Dr. Chris Dickinson, interim executive director of Mott.

The jump to the number eight spot on the Parents magazine list came sooner than health system administrators anticipated, Dickinson said, calling the ranking a “remarkable achievement.” Dickinson said he thought it would take five to six years before receiving that kind of national recognition.

Hospitals were ranked by the editors of Parents based on the following: Rates of survival for childhood cancer, pediatric heart disease, experience in performing complex procedures, depth of research programs, safeguards to prevent medical errors, staging ratios, community outreach and services that address the emotional needs of families and patients.

The results of the Parents magazine survey will appear in the March 2013 issue, which hits newsstands Feb. 12.

Monday morning in the lobby of C.S. Mott, Dickinson unveiled a new sign announcing the ranking to patients and visitors to the hospital in front of a small crowd of hospital staff. It's the first time the hospital has had a banner and a ceremony announcing the new ranking, said Loree Collett, associate hospital director at Mott.

Collett said the upgraded Parents magazine ranking is a return on U-M’s investment in the new C.S. Mott facility in terms of reputation and national awareness.

Before moving to the new building at the end off 2011, UMHS’ Mott hospital was in a facility that wasn’t as accommodating to parents as they would have liked, Collett said.

The new 348-bed facility has all private patient rooms and on-demand meal services -a contributing factor to increased patient satisfaction scores, Collett said.

C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is a leader at the University of Michigan in National Institutes of Health-funded research, Dickinson said. The national recognition from Parents magazine will also help researchers at Mott gain an additional edge in research grant proposals, Collett said.

The number 8 spot will also help the children’s hospital recruit top doctors, Dickinson said.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.