30 Largest Children's Hospitals in the United States

Here are the 30 largest children's hospitals in the country listed by their reported total number of beds. Note: Rankings are based on each hospital's own reported bed count.

1. Texas Children's Hospital (Houston). Texas Children's is considered the largest children's hospital in the nation, with 465 beds in use. It is part of the Texas Medical Center, a collection of independent hospitals and academic institutions west of downtown Houston, and is the primary pediatric training site for Baylor College of Medicine. The hospital has more than 1,580 physicians and dentists in 42 pediatric subspecialties on its medical staff. Mark A. Wallace has been president and CEO since 1989.

Texas Children's is also a part of Texas Children's Hospital Integrated Delivery System, which also operates more than 40 patient care centers and a health plan. The hospital is in the middle of a $1.5 billion expansion that will increase its size to 639 licensed beds and include a neurological research institute, maternity center and a second campus.

Texas Children's was ranked in all 10 specialties on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals and earned a top spot in Parents magazine's 10 Best Children's Hospitals. Information Week magazine ranked it first in healthcare and second overall for its innovative use of information technology.

2. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Cincinnati Children's has 449 beds, 11,666 employees and an active medical staff of 1,442 physicians and dentists. Patient encounters exceeded 1 million for the first time in fiscal year 2009. In 2008, it logged 31,217 admissions, and 910,000 outpatient visits a year. Michael Fisher has been president and CEO since Jan. 2010.

The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine has been affiliated with the hospital since 1926. Cincinnati Children's is second in the nation among all pediatric centers receiving research grants from the National Institutes of Health, logging more than $99 million in NIH grants in fiscal year 2009. Patients come from 40 countries and 47 states. It is one of 10 pediatric hospitals named to the U.S. News & World Report's honor roll of America's Best Children's Hospitals. U.S. News ranked it in the top five for six of the 10 specialties surveyed, including first in digestive diseases.

3. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The oldest children's hospital in the nation, CHOP has 431 beds and more than 24,660 admissions, just over 1 million outpatient visits and 78,000 ED visits annually. Steven M. Altschuler, MD, has been president and CEO since 2000. The original hospital opened in 1855. Later, it provided the first formal medical training for pediatric physicians and opened the first neonatal surgical and pediatric intensive care unit in the nation. The current facility opened in 1974, but it is undergoing a $1.5-billion expansion that will double the hospital's size. It is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The hospital ranked first on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals, including first in cancer, diabetes, neonatal care, respiratory disorders and urology; second for digestive disorders, kidney disorders, neurology and neurosurgery and heart and heart surgery; and third for orthopedics.

4. Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, Ohio). With 410 beds and a medical staff of 950 physicians and dentists, Nationwide Children's logged 16,247 admissions in 2007. It is affiliated with Ohio State University College of Medicine. Formerly called the Children's Hospital of Columbus, it changed its name to "Nationwide" three years ago after receiving a $50 million bequest from the Nationwide Insurance Company. Its president and CEO is Steve Allen, MD.

Nationwide Children's originally opened in 1894 with nine patient beds. It operates three "Close To Home" centers offering urgent care services in the suburbs of Columbus. In 2009, the hospital's Research Institute ranked ninth in NIH funding among freestanding pediatric institutions. It appeared on Parents magazine's list of 10 Best Children's Hospitals in 2009 and in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Children's Hospitals in 2009.

5. Children's Hospital Boston. Children's Boston has 396 beds and logs 22,600 admissions and more than 527,500 visits in 204 specialized clinical programs annually. It hosts 23,000 surgical procedures and 170,000 radiological exams a year and has 963 physicians and dentists on its active staff. James Mandell, MD, has been president and CEO since Oct. 2000.

With 897 residents and fellows, Children's Boston is the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Most of the physicians on staff hold faculty appointments at Harvard. It has a record $176 million in research funding, making it the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center. Children's Boston was one of only two hospitals to rank in the top five in all 10 specialties U.S. News & World Report's America’s Best Children's Hospitals in 2009. The hospital ranked first in heart and heart surgery, neurology and neurosurgery and orthopedics.

6. Riley Hospital for Children (Indianapolis). Riley bills itself as the nation's sixth largest pediatric hospital, with 379 staffed beds — 280 at Riley's main campus and 99 beds at Riley Hospital for Children at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Riley has 17,867 admissions and observation cases and 304,790 specialty outpatient visits a year. It has a medical staff of 373 and 1,943 full-time employees. Daniel L. Fink has been president and CEO since May 2009.

Riley is named after the Indiana writer James Whitcomb Riley, who was known as the "children's poet" of the nation and died in 1916. It is part of four-hospital Clarian Health and is affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine. In addition to the hospital, Riley runs 30 primary sites and 16 subspecialty sites.  It has the world's largest pediatric sleep disorders center and one of the nation's three largest autism treatment centers.

In January, construction on resumed on the hospital's $345 million expansion, which will house 300 beds when completed in 2013. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Children's Hospitals ranked Riley third in urology, 12th in diabetes and endocrine disorders, 14th in neonatal care and respiratory disorders, 18th in digestive disorders, 27th in neurology and neurosurgery and 28th in orthopedics.

7. Children's Medical Center Dallas. Children's Dallas operates 366 beds and is licensed for 559 beds. It logged 18,276 admissions in 2007 and has a medical staff of 975 physicians and dentists. Children's Dallas is a major pediatric kidney, liver, intestine, heart and bone marrow transplant center. It developed the nation's first day surgery program for children. It also runs 72-bed Children's Medical Center at Legacy, which opened in 2008 in Plano, Texas. Chris Durovich is the president and CEO.

Children's Dallas is the primary pediatric teaching facility for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. In U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals, it ranked second in orthopedics and 10th in urology. Parents magazine ranked it 17th on its list of Best Children's Hospitals.

8. Phoenix Children's Hospital. Founded in 1983, Phoenix Children's bills itself as one of the 10 largest children's hospitals in the country. This Arizona hospital has 344 beds, including 183 ICU beds. It had 12,358 admissions in 2008, and its physicians are active in 40 sub-specialty fields. Its Hemophilia Center is one of the largest in the country, with 458 patients. Phoenix Children's originally opened within Good Samaritan Medical Center, operated as an independent hospital there for almost 20 years and than moved to its own site in 2002. It recently announced plans for a $588 million expansion. Robert L. Meyer has been president and CEO since Oct. 2003

The hospital has developed centers of excellence in neonatology, hematology and oncology, neurosciences, cardiac services, Level 1 trauma and orthopedics. In the 2009 Leapfrog Group Top Hospital Survey for quality and safety, Phoenix Children's received perfect scores in the prevention of medical errors, ICU staffing and reducing ICU infections, and near-top scores for taking steps to avoid harm.

9. Akron Children's Hospital (Akron, Ohio). First opening as a day nursery in 1890, Akron Children's currently has 343 beds and logged 8,647 admissions in 2007. It also operates the 32-bed Beeghly Campus and one of the nation's largest pediatric primary care networks, with 15 offices at nearly 80 locations in seven counties. William H. Considine is president and CEO.

As a teaching affiliate of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy, it offers 11 subspecialty training programs. The hospital houses regional centers for genetics, fetal treatment, cancer and blood disorders, heart, palliative care, orthopedics, pediatric trauma, pediatric intensive care and level III neonatal intensive care. Children's Akron is one of only two pediatric hospitals in the country with a burn center for both adults and children. The hospital is one of the founding members of the BioInnovation Institute in Akron, a collaboration of research, education and health institutions.

10. Children's Hospital Central California (Madera, Calif.). With 338 beds, this institution is the second-largest children’s hospital in the state. Its medical staff includes more than 450 physicians in more than 40 pediatric specialties. William F. Haug is currently president and CEO, but Gordon L. Alexander, Jr., MD, will succeed Mr. Haug in summer 2010.

The hospital hosts more than 9,000 pediatric surgeries a year. Its Craycroft Cancer Center is a full member of the nationally recognized Children’s Oncology Group and sees more than 100 new cases a year. Its pediatric and neonatal ICUs have some of the lowest mortality rates in the country while treating some of the sickest children. The hospital was on the Leapfrog Group’s list of Top Hospital for quality and safety two years in a row.

11. Arkansas Children's Hospital (Little Rock, Ark.). With 316 beds, 4,200 employees and a medical staff of about 500 physicians, Arkansas Children's reports 11,000 admissions annually. Arkansas Children's includes the Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, which is active in research on diabetes, birth defects, pain, nutrition and stem cell transplants. James Aronson, MD, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Arkansas Children's, is the leading U.S. practitioner of the Ilizarov bone-lengthening technique. Jonathan R. Bates, MD, has been president and CEO of Arkansas Children's since 1993.

As a teaching hospital for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, it has 80 residents in pediatrics and pediatric specialties. U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals ranked it 30th in orthopedics. In 2008, it placed in Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For.

12. Children's Mercy Hospital & Clinics (Kansas City, Mo.). With 314 beds and 14,621 admissions annually, CMH runs outpatient clinics in midtown Kansas City and suburban Johnson County, Kan., as well as outreach clinics in outlying communities. Randall L. O'Donnell is the president and CEO.

CMH trains pediatrics residents and fellows with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals ranked 17th for pediatric digestive disorders and 26th for neonatal care. Child magazine has named the hospital as one of the top overall best children's hospitals for the past 12 years.

13. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.). The 312-bed Lucile Packard Children's Hospital houses expectant mothers as well as children. It has a medical staff of 835 physicians and dentists and logged 13,813 discharges in 2008. Christopher Dawes has been president and CEO since 1999.

Situated on the Stanford University campus, Lucile Packard is the pediatric affiliate of Stanford University School of Medicine. It also operates an extensive network of community and outreach services in dozens of locations in the San Francisco Bay area and the greater Pacific Northwest. U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals ranked Lucile Packard fifth in heart and heart surgery and neonatal care and 11th in cancer.

14. Miller Children's Hospital (Long Beach, Calif.). With 308 beds, this hospital is both a pediatric and obstetric facility. It has more than 750 pediatricians on staff in 30 different sub-specialties and logs 84,000 pediatric outpatient visits, 23,000 pediatric ED visits and 4,400 pediatric surgical cases annually. Diana Hendel has been president and CEO since 2009.

Miller Children's is part of MemorialCare, a five-hospital health system. With more than 110 pediatric fellows and residents, the hospital is the major pediatric teaching institution for the University of California, Irvine. It is a Leapfrog Group Top Hospital for quality and safety.

15. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Children's Pittsburgh has 296 beds, including a 41-bed ED. It logs more than 500,000 visits a year, including 13,569 admissions in 2007, and provides primary care and specialty care at over 30 locations. It is part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and its president is Christopher A. Gessner.

Children's Pittsburgh moved into a $625 million replacement campus in May 2009. The new campus includes a 10-story research center, with seven out of the 10 floors dedicated for pediatric medical research. The hospital cites special expertise in pediatric cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, critical care, diabetes, hematology and oncology, neurosurgery, organ and tissue transplantation, orthopedics, otolaryngology and pediatric surgery.

The hospital consistently ranks high in U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals. In U.S. News' 2009 listings, it ranked sixth in digestive disorders, seventh in respiratory disorders, eighth in diabetes and endocrine disorders and 13th in heart and heart surgery. In 2009, Children's was one of only eight pediatric hospitals in the nation named a 2009 Leapfrog Group Top Hospital for quality and safety.

16. Miami Children's Hospital. The 289-bed Miami Children's reports 12,000 admissions and 160,000 outpatient visits annually. It has more than 2,000 employees and a medical staff of more than 650 physicians in more than 40 pediatric subspecialties.  Miami Children's is affiliated with the Florida International University College of Medicine. The hospital's Congenital Heart Institute is one of the leading programs in the nation in terms of volume and clinical outcomes. It is affiliated with Florida International University College of Medicine. M. Narendra Kini, MD, has been president and CEO since Jan. 2008.

Parents magazine listed Miami Children's as one of the nation's Best Children's Hospitals in 2009, the only hospital in the state to be included in the ranking. U.S. News & World Report's 2009 list of America's Best Children's Hospitals ranked Miami Children's 15th in heart and heart surgery, 15th in neonatology and 19th in neurology and neurosurgery. The American Nurses Credentialing Center recognized it as a Magnet institution for excellence in nursing in 2006.

17. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. This 286-bed hospital logs more than 11,000 admissions, 62,000 ED visits and 287,000 visits to its 29 outpatient clinics and laboratories per year. Childrens has 498 physicians on staff, all of whom are members of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group, the largest pediatric medical group in the United States. The hospital runs a 20-bed pediatric ICU and the 15-bed cardiothoracic ICU. Richard D. Cordova has been president and CEO since 2006.

The hospital, affiliated with the University of Southern California, appointed D. Brent Polk, MD, as the new head of its department of pediatrics in April. It is the only children's hospital on the West Coast ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties in U.S. News & World Report's list of best pediatric hospitals. Childrens Los Angeles ranked fifth in diabetes and endocrine disorders, eighth in cancer, ninth in kidney disorders and 10th tenth in heart and heart surgery. It is one of eight children's hospitals in the nation to receive the Leapfrog Group's Top Hospital designation for quality and safety.

18. Cook Children's Medical Center (Fort Worth, Texas). With 285 licensed beds, Cook Children's had 11,999 admissions, 97,588 outpatient visits, 78,701 ED visits and 15,955 surgical procedures in 2008. It reported a medical staff of 555 and 3,716 full-time employees in 2008. Rick W. Merrill has been president and CEO since Aug. 2007.

Cook Children's resulted from a 1985 merger of the former Cook Children's Hospital and Fort Worth Children's Hospital. It is part of Cook Children's Health Care System, an integrated pediatric healthcare system with 35 pediatric medical offices and specialty clinics throughout Texas. The system runs two hospitals, a pediatric multi-specialty practice with 300 physicians and 120 nurse practitioners, and a health plan, the Northeast Hospital and Health Foundation.

Despite the recession, Cook Children's saw revenue and operating income rise in 2009, and in May 2009, it broke ground on a $250 million expansion of its medical center complex to be completed in 2011. The hospital placed on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals in 2009.

19. The Children's Hospital (Aurora, Colo.). The Children's Hospital operates 284 beds out of 314 licensed beds and has 12,869 admissions and 452,712 outpatient visits annually. There are 802 physicians and dentists on its active medical staff plus 186 residents and fellows. Jim Shmerling is president and CEO.

The Children's Hospital, affiliated with the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, is located on the Anschutz Medical Campus. It also operates 15 network-of-care locations, including two emergency locations, three urgent care sites and nine specialty care centers and clinics. In 2009, The Children's Hospital was on lists of the best children's hospitals from U.S. News & World Report, Child and Parents magazines.

20. Children's National Medical Center (Washington, D.C.). This 283-bed hospital logs 13,320 admissions, 355,881 outpatient visits and 75,325 ED visits annually. It has 471 physicians on staff, 199 physicians in training and 5,389 employees. Edwin K. Zechman Jr. has been president and CEO since 1994.

In Sept. 2009, Children's National opened the $150 million Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, based on the largest contribution ever made for pediatric surgery, a gift from the government of Abu Dhabi. In winter 2010, it completed its transition to a new inpatient tower.

Affiliated with George Washington University, the hospital shares a campus with Washington Hospital Center, the National Rehabilitation Center and the District of Columbia VA Medical Center. It was on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals and on the Leapfrog Group's list of Top Hospitals for quality and safety.

21. Children's Hospital of Alabama (Birmingham, Ala.). With 275 licensed beds, Children's Alabama reported 14,062 admissions, 672,308 outpatient visits and 57,480 ED visits in 2009. It has 13 outpatient clinics on-site and says it is the 10th-busiest children's hospital in the nation. Mike Warren has been president and CEO since Jan 2008.

When the hospital's $350-million replacement is completed by mid-2012, it will be renamed the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children. The hospital runs a medical research division and is a teaching facility for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It ranks among the top 10 pediatric departments in the nation in funding from NIH. The hospital has achieved Magnet designation for excellence in nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

22. Rady Children's Hospital San Diego. The 259-bed Rady Children's, with more than 700 physicians on staff, treated more than 136,300 inpatients in fiscal year 2009, an increase of 5.3 percent over the previous year. It also logged 220,791 outpatient visits, 58,388 ED visits and 28,840 urgent care visits in fiscal year 2009. Kathleen Sellick is president and CEO.

Rady Children's new 84-bed acute care pavilion opens in fall 2010. In addition, the hospital plans to open a children's clinic at the other end of San Diego County in partnership with South Dakota's Sanford Health system. Rady Children's cites special expertise in autism, cancer care, dermatology, developmental services, dialysis, heart institute, NICU, neurosurgery, orthopedics and surgery.    

On U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals, Rady Children's ranked fourth in orthopedics, 13th in urology, 22nd in respiratory disorders, 27th in neonatal care, 28th in diabetes and endocrine disorders and 30th in heart and heart surgery. Parents magazine ranked Rady Children's among its list of Best Children's Hospitals.

23. Primary Children's Medical Center (Salt Lake City). With 252 beds, a medical staff of 750, Primary Children's has 13,317 inpatient admissions, 159,583 outpatient registrations and 33,144 ED visits. The president and CEO is Joe Mott.

Primary Children's gets its name from the Primary Association, which was the children's program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Mormon Church opened a children's ward at its major hospital in Salt Lake City in 1911 and spun off its hospitals in 1975 to form Intermountain Healthcare, a nonreligious system that still oversees Primary Children's. In 1990, the hospital moved to the University of Utah campus. U.S. News & World Report's list of best pediatric hospitals ranks Primary Children's 11th in neurology and neurosurgery, 15th in orthopedics and 20th in heart and heart surgery.

24. St. Louis Children's Hospital. St. Louis Children's has 250 licensed beds, including a 36-bed pediatric intensive care unit and a medical staff of 700 physicians and dentists. It logged 12,077 admissions in 2007.  St. Louis Children's has the world's largest pediatric lung transplant program and also offers transplant programs for heart, liver, kidney, and bone marrow. It is part of BJC Health, which also runs 1,252-bed Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and is affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine. Lee F. Fetter has been president of the hospital since 2002.

In 2009, Parents magazine ranked St. Louis Children's Hospital fifth on its list of Best Children's Hospitals, placing it third in newborn medicine and orthopedics, fourth in pulmonary medicine and emergency medicine and sixth in cardiac services. In 2009, it was on U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll of America's Best Children's Hospitals, where it placed ninth for orthopedics and 11th for neonatal care.

25. Seattle Children's Hospital. With 250 licensed beds, Seattle Children's reports 14,106 admissions, 227,901 outpatient visits and 38,414 ED visits annually. It has 592 hospital-based physicians and 393 private practice providers. Seattle Children's changed its name in 2008 from Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center. It is the pediatric referral center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. This hospital is the primary pediatric training site for the University of Washington School of Medicine. Thomas N. Hansen, MD has been president and CEO since 2005.

Seattle Children's ranked among the top 10 on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals, placing fourth in the country for kidney disorders, sixth for cancer, eighth for urology and ninth for respiratory disorders and neurology and neurosurgery.

26. Children's Memorial Hospital (Chicago). Children's Memorial has 247 beds in use out of 270 licensed beds. Its medical staff includes 1,100 pediatric specialists in 70 pediatric subspecialties and is the region's top provider in 20 pediatric specialties. The hospital had 12,210 admissions, 498,771 ambulatory and ED visits and 20,049 surgical procedures in 2009. Its CEO is Patrick M. Magoon. Children's Memorial is the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

Physicians and scientists at Children's Memorial were awarded more than $34.8 million in extramural research funding in 2009, an increase of 9.7 percent over the previous year. It is on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals, placing seventh in urology and 12th in heart and heart surgery. It placed 11th of more than 75 surveyed in Parents magazine's list of 2008 Best Children's Hospitals.

27. Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian (New York). This 10-story, 202-bed hospital opened in 2003 at a cost of $123 million. It is an affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The highest ranking official is Cynthia N. Sparer, who is COO of Women's, Children's and Community Health for the NewYork-Presbyterian system, which runs 16 hospitals. Morgan Stanley Children's is the only children's hospital in Manhattan and one of the largest in the country. On U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Children's Hospitals, it ranked sixth in heart and heart surgery, seventh in diabetes and endocrine disorders, seventh in neurology and neurosurgery, 13th in digestive disorders and respiratory disorders, 14th in urology, 17th in kidney disorders, 18th in cancer and 23rd in orthopedics.  

28. University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital (Mobile, Ala.). This 198-bed hospital has 8,424 admissions and 52,283 outpatient visits annually. Its Evaluation Center sees more than 30,000 patients a year. It is part of the University of South Alabama Hospitals, which also operates 400-bed USA Medical Center and a multi-specialty physician's group. The administrator is Becky A. DeVillier and the CEO is Stan Hammack, who is also CEO of University of South Alabama Hospitals.

USA Children's & Women's is one of six freestanding U.S. hospitals dedicated specifically to children, women and infants. In addition to having the area's only pediatric ICU, it delivers more babies than any other hospital in the Mobile area. The hospital is seeking state approval for a $72 million expansion to add new operating rooms and a three-story tower for pediatric care. It features the award-winning USS Hope pediatric cancer and sickle cell treatment center, which uses "distraction therapy" to give young patients the feeling of traveling in a submarine during their visit.

29. Children's Hospital & Research Center (Oakland, Calif.). Also known as Children's Hospital Oakland, this 191-bed facility has 166 hospital-based physicians in 30 pediatric subspecialties, from adolescent medicine to urology. Its affiliated research institute is involved in children's health issues like pediatric obesity, cancers, sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia and cystic fibrosis. Bert Lubin, MD, is president and CEO.

The hospital is one of only 45 freestanding children's hospitals  in the nation that are not connected to a university or other institution. In 2008, it ranked sixth in the nation for NIH awards to pediatric healthcare research programs.

30. Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children (Falls Church, Va.). This 186-bed, full-service children's hospital is home to the only pediatric ICU and the largest subspecialty NICU in Northern Virginia. The hospital's CEO is L. Reuven Pasternak, MD, who is also CEO of 833-bed Inova Fairfax Hospital.

The hospital places emphasis on nephrology, cardiology, critical care and sedation and gastroenterology for children. Its pediatric residency program is affiliated with the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.