Northwell Health's Cohen Children's Medical Center ties for best pediatric care in New York State

A Long Island children's hospital tied for the best in the state, according to an annual pediatric rankings list published by U.S. News & World Report.

Northwell Health's Cohen Children's Medical Center also ranked in the top 50 nationally for 10 pediatric subspecialties, and tied for the fourth best pediatric hospital in the mid-Atlantic region, according to the report published Tuesday.

The New Hyde Park facility tied with New York-Presbyterian Children’s Hospital-Columbia and Cornell for the state's top ranking.

Cohen Children's was also ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in neonatology; pediatric urology; pediatric nephrology; pediatric cancer; pediatric pulmonology and lung surgery; pediatric neurology and neurosurgery; pediatric orthopedics; pediatric diabetes and endocrinology; pediatric gastroenterology and GI surgery; and pediatric and adolescent behavioral health.

"We have exceptional teams that continue to build and innovate and grow year after year after year, and really strive with excellent patient care being our priority," said Dr. Annemarie Stroustrup, chair and senior vice president of the pediatric service line at Northwell, in an interview.

Elena Jersey, 36, of Franklin Square, said she wasn't surprised by Cohen Children's high ranking. The hospital has provided "phenomenal care" for her son Glenn IV, who is now nearly 2 months old, since he was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia when she was 20 weeks pregnant.

After having surgery at 6 days old, "he's making great progress and we're thankful every day that they did a life saving surgery for him," she told Newsday.

For the rankings, U.S. News partnered with research firm RTI International to collect and analyze data from 118 children’s hospitals, according to the publication. Designations were determined based on clinical outcomes, patient care quality and compliance with established best practices.

Freestanding children's hospitals and pediatric departments of adult hospitals qualify to submit data for the rankings report, said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis for U.S. News.

"Our broad mission as a journalistic organization is to help people make important life decisions," he said. "I've been working on the project since its advent in 2007. We collect data from institutions across the country and analyze their performance in a range of pediatric specialties with the goal of providing a data-driven decision tool to families who are trying to decide what's the right institution to care for their child."

He added that he encourages families to look at both specialty and regional rankings to find the most accessible hospital that fits the child's medical needs.

Families "should always make that decision in conjunction with their child's health care provider and care team," he said.

Patient advocates had similar advice. 

"Parents should always consult with the doctors and other providers who are directly familiar with their child's unique medical history and personal needs," said Janae Quackenbush, spokeswoman for nonprofit advocacy group Healthcare Association of New York State.

"Reports and rankings are some of the many tools available to parents and patients when choosing a hospital for a specific procedure or specialty. We encourage parents to use all tools available to them to help make the best choices for their families," she wrote in an email.

Cohen Children's is among many "outstanding" options for specialty pediatric care in the region, said Wendy Darwell, president of the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State. 

"I think most parents hope to never need hospital level care for their kids, but when you need it, it's the most important thing in the world to you and you want those services to be close by," she said.