Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital has been recognized as the Best Children’s Hospital in cardiology and heart surgery for 2021-22 by U.S. News & World Report.

Released today, the annual rankings are designed to assist patients, their families, and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions.

“Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital’s innovative work in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery would not be possible without our amazing pediatric healthcare team,” says Peter Baker, Senior Vice President and Administrator of LLU Children’s Hospital. “Every Children’s Health physician and employee is motivated by their genuine commitment to meeting the health needs of our young patients and their families. This U.S. News recognition is a wonderful public acknowledgment of the work we do here every day.”

Anees Razzouk, MD, Chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, says the recognition aligns with Loma Linda University Health’s tradition of excellence in cardiac surgery services, especially pediatric and congenital heart surgery, for the past 60 years.

“This honor is a tribute to those teams in the Children’s Hospital: pediatric cardiac anesthesia, pediatric cardiology, pediatric intensive care, pediatric cardiac surgery, pediatric radiology, advanced practice nursing, skilled nurses and therapists, and all other disciplines that come together every day and every night to attend to the details that are essential to care for children with heart conditions,” Razzouk says. “We're very proud of those teams and grateful to the institution for providing the resources and the support that are needed to sustain a program of this caliber. Today, we celebrate this exciting news and look forward to maintaining this ranking and providing quality cardiac services to our community.”

For 2021-22, U.S. News ranked the top 50 centers in each of these 10 pediatric specialties: cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology & lung surgery, and urology. They collected and analyzed data from 118 children’s hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialties.

This article was originally published on the Loma Linda University Health news site