For Immediate Release Kristin Peaks Phone: 682-885-1080 Email: kristin.peaks@cookchildrens.org Cook Children’s Medical Center Ranks in 7 Specialties in U.S. News & World Report’s 2014-15 Best Children’s Hospitals Fort Worth, Texas – July 11, 2014 − U.S. News & World Report has ranked Cook Children’s in 7 specialties in the new 2014-15 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. Cook Children’s ranked #35 in Pediatrics: Cancer, #46 in Pediatrics: Cardiology and Heart Surgery, #28 in Pediatrics: Diabetes and Endocrinology, #38 in Pediatrics: Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, #49 in Pediatrics: Nephrology, #37 in Pediatrics: Neurology and Neurosurgery, and #28 in Pediatrics: Pulmonology. The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings highlight U.S. News’s top 50 U.S. pediatric facilities in cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, gastroenterology & GI surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology. Eighty-nine hospitals ranked in at least one specialty, based on a combination of clinical data and reputation with pediatric specialists. “What an honor it is to work side by side with exceptional physicians, nurses and staff who embrace the opportunity to improve health and virtually change the lives of children and their families,” said Rick W. Merrill, President and CEO, Cook Children’s Health Care System. U.S. News introduced the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings in 2007 to help families of sick children find the best medical care available. The rankings open the door to an array of detailed information about each hospital’s performance. Five-sixths of each hospital’s score relied on patient outcomes and the care-related resources each hospital makes available. To gather clinical data, U.S. News sent a clinical questionnaire to 183 pediatric hospitals. The remaining one-sixth of the score derived from a survey of 450 pediatric specialists and subspecialists in each specialty over three years. The 4,500 physicians were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty, setting aside location and expense. “Every Best Children’s Hospital deserves high praise,” said U.S. News Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow. “We know how important it is to parents to have confidence in pediatric centers that show dedication and expertise in caring for a child facing a lifethreatening, rare or demanding illness.” Cook Children’s ranks in 7 specialties – Fort Worth/Page 2 Survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, procedure volume and much more can be viewed on http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings and will be published in the U.S. News “Best Hospitals 2015” guidebook, which will be available in August. About Cook Children’s Cook Children’s Health Care System is a not-for-profit, nationally recognized pediatric health care organization comprised of eight entities – a Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services Inc., and Health Foundation. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the integrated system has more than 60 primary and specialty care offices throughout North Texas. Its service region includes Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties, with an additional referral area encompassing nearly half the state. Cook Children's traces its roots back to 1918, but throughout its continual change and robust growth, it still embraces an inspiring promise – to improve the health of every child in its region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. To live up to this promise, Cook Children’s combines the art of caring with the use of leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child, every day. For more information, please visit www.cookchildrens.org. ###