Cohen Children's Medical Center again ranked best pediatric hospital in the state

For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park the best pediatric hospital in the state.

The Northwell Health facility tied for the No. 1 spot with NewYork-Presbyterian Children's Hospital-Columbia and Cornell in Manhattan. Both hospitals also tied for fourth in the mid-Atlantic region rankings, and ranked among the top 50 nationally in 10 pediatric subspecialties, according to the report.

Cohen Children's was recognized for its treatments in behavioral health; urology; pulmonology and lung surgery; orthopedics; neurology and neurosurgery; nephrology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; cancer; and neonatology. 

"We're very proud of the recognition," said Carolyn Quinn, president of Cohen Children's Medical Center, in a phone interview from a staff celebration on Tuesday night. "We love the work we do, we love the families we serve."

"There's commitment at the top of the house to ensure that we have resources to do what we need to do. That's technology, that's innovation really driving forward our mission," Quinn added. Cohen Children's recently was the first in New York to treat sickle cell disease with gene therapy, and last year performed Long Island's first pediatric heart transplant, according to a news release.

U.S. News & World Report's regional children's hospital rankings recognized three other area medical centers, including Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone in Manhattan, Children's Hospital at Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx and Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital in Manhattan.

Other recognized New York pediatric facilities include MSK Kids at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan for pediatric cancer treatment, and Lerner Children's Pavilion-Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan for orthopedics. 

U.S. News & World Report partnered with North Carolina-based research firm RTI International to survey about 200 hospitals around the country for the annual list, basing rankings on clinical outcomes, compliance with established best practices and resources available to patients, according to the media company. U.S. News & World Report has emphasized that rankings "should just be a starting point" for families researching medical care for their child. 

U.S. News & World Report is one among several hospital ratings systems, and experts advise doing research and consulting trusted providers when making decisions about care, Newsday has reported. 

The national recognition is "a great boost" to a hospital's staff and "families on Long Island and in Queens also should take comfort in knowing that Cohen, along with Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and others in the downstate region, are prepared to provide highly specialized services to pediatric patients," said Wendy Darwell, president and CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State, in an email. "Every parent hopes their child will never need that level of care but when they do, it’s a relief to be able to access treatment close to home."

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.