Holtz Children’s Hospital at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center has been ranked among the nation’s best in “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals,” published by U.S. News & World Report. Holtz was ranked No. 10 on the specialties list for treating kidney disorders and No. 23 for neonatal care.

Holtz Children's Hospital has been ranked No. 10 on the specialties list for treating kidney disorders and No. 23 for neonatal care.

“It is an incredible honor for the UM faculty physicians, nurses, and entire staff at Holtz Children’s Hospital to be the only hospital in Florida with a child health program ranked among the top ten best programs in the United States,” said Steven E. Lipshultz, professor and chair of pediatrics and associate executive dean for child health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and chief of staff of Holtz Children’s Hospital.

“This national recognition reflects our commitment to bring the very best, compassionately delivered and quality-driven medical care to children and their loved ones in this community and to all the patients we serve from around the world,” Lipshultz continued. “This affirms the expertise of Holtz Children’s Hospital in providing advanced patient care to some of the most seriously ill and medically complex children, who often have rare illnesses from before birth to young adulthood.

“The partnership between the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Holtz Children’s Hospital advances the missions of patient care, education, and research to provide the highest quality of care for children, train tomorrow’s physicians, and find new cutting-edge treatments for childhood diseases. This is a perfect example of what can be done in a collaborative atmosphere.

“Our work is not done,” Lipschultz added. “We drive toward excellence every single day and constantly seek to improve.”

The methodology behind this year’s rankings weighed a three-part blend of reputation, outcomes, 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 sub-specialists are on the staff.

“The health of children is one of our highest priorities at the Miller School of Medicine and that commitment is reflected in these prestigious rankings,” said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, senior vice president for medical affairs, dean of the Miller School of Medicine, and CEO of University of Miami Health System. “Under the remarkable leadership of Steve Lipshultz, our pediatric specialists and the wonderful staff at Holtz Children’s Hospital will help us provide the world’s best care for every child in South Florida and beyond.”

Led by Miller School professor of pediatrics Gaston Zilleruelo, Holtz Children’s Hospital’s kidney program is the only state-funded and -designated Center of Excellence for Children with Chronic Kidney Failure in South Florida, which provides care for about 200 children with various levels of kidney dysfunction from pre-dialysis, dialysis, and post-transplant. Holtz’s Pediatric Dialysis Unit is one of the nation’s largest dialysis units dedicated solely to children, with an average of 45 patients on chronic maintenance dialysis. In addition, Holtz’s nephrology program follows more than 100 pediatric kidney transplant patients and maintains one of the best patient and graft survival statistics in the nation.

Holtz Children’s Hospital Project Newborn Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, overseen by Eduardo Bancalari, is among the largest in the nation and has some of the best outcomes in the United States. The hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), one of 11 designated regional perinatal intensive care centers in Florida, is one of three centers nationally that served as benchmark for broncho-pulmonary dysplasia through the NIH Neonatal Research Network. The NICU has almost 20 percent higher survival rates for extremely low birth-weight infants than those of the Vermont Oxford Network’s national database of participating hospitals. The Neonatal Special Care Center, with 126 beds (66 ICU and 60 intermediate care), cares for approximately 2,500 newborns annually.

“To be recognized on this elite list as one of the best children’s hospitals in the nation is a great honor for Holtz Children’s Hospital,” said Eneida Roldan, president and CEO of Jackson Health System. “Every day our physicians, nurses, and staff are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to all our pediatric patients and their families.”

Joseph J. Frassica, associate chair of pediatrics at the Miller School and chief medical officer at Holtz Children’s Hospital, served as the coordinator for all of the statistical information that needed to be submitted to U.S. News for Holtz Children’s Hospital to be considered in the rankings. In addition, Zilleruelo and Tracie Miller, professor of pediatrics, have been selected by U.S. News to serve on a working group that will develop recommendations on how to refine the 2010 round of children’s hospital rankings.