US News & World Report lists UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals among nation's best for kids in all 11 specialties
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals together have tied for best hospital in Northern California in the 2024-2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Children's Hospitals list. This is the ninth straight year that the hospitals together have been ranked in all categories assessed in the annual survey, reflecting the exceptional quality of care the hospitals provide.
Together, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in Oakland and San Francisco ranked seventh nationwide in newborn specialty care (neonatology) and placed among the top 25 children's hospitals nationwide in eight pediatric specialties: cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, kidney care (nephrology), neonatology, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology and lung surgery, and urology. The hospitals were also recognized nationally in cardiology and heart surgery, orthopedics and behavioral health.
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals were ranked as the best in Northern California for cancer care, cardiology and heart surgery, and urology. They tied for No. 3 children's hospitals in the state and No. 4 in the Pacific region, which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
"UCSF Health's pediatric care teams are driven by a deeply seated belief that every child deserves access to world-class health care delivered with compassion and convenience in mind," said Suresh Gunasekaran, president and chief executive officer of UCSF Health. "Receiving this national recognition year after year affirms our conviction that success is defined by putting patients and families first, while always striving to do better."
The annual U.S. News rankings serve as a guide to hospitals nationwide that excel in treating children with the most challenging diagnoses. This year, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals' combined rankings rose in the four specialty areas of pediatric cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, neonatology and urology.
"It's wonderful to see our efforts to continuously improve specialty areas, such as cancer and cardiology, reflected in these latest rankings," said Nicholas Holmes, MD, president of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. "Our overall excellence across all specialties is possible only through the compassion and hard work of our staff, nurses, physicians and trainees, whose dedication to our patients and families inspires me daily."
The 2024-2025 results represent the 18th year of pediatric rankings. The methodology reflects clinical outcomes such as patient survival, infection rates and complications; the level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care, including staffing, special services and technology; the delivery of health care, including programs to prevent infection and promote adherence to best practices; and expert opinion from surveys of 6,669 pediatric specialists.
Of the 198 children's hospitals eligible this year, 88 hospitals were ranked among the top 50 in at least one specialty. Each facility was either a freestanding children's hospital or an autonomous, multidisciplinary pediatric department within a major medical center.
The complete list of children's hospital rankings is available online and will be published in the Best Hospitals print guide in November. U.S. News & World Report published this year's adult hospital rankings in July.
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals specialty rankings for 2024-2025
#7 - Neonatology
#11 - Cancer Care (Best in Northern California)
#18 - Nephrology
#19 - Neurology and Neurosurgery
#20 (tied) - Urology (Best in Northern California)
#21 (tied) - Gastroenterology and GI Surgery
#22 - Diabetes and Endocrinology
#25 - Pulmonology and Lung Surgery
#34 - Cardiology and Heart Surgery (Best in Northern California)
#43 - Orthopedics
Top 50 - Behavioral Health (Category unranked)
