For the 14^th year in a row, the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s best pediatric hospitals, hospital representatives announced on Tuesday, June 15. In the 2021-2022 Best Children’s Hospitals list, the hospital’s neonatology, pediatric cancer and gastroenterology & GI surgery units ranked among the top 20 programs in the country, and the nephrology, and neurology & neurosurgery units were in the top 50. CHAM is also highlighted as the number three children’s hospital in New York State.

 

In compiling the list, U.S. News gathered data from 118 children’s hospitals in early 2020, and from pediatric physicians and other healthcare organizations in 2021. Data collection from children’s hospitals was not repeated in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Best Children’s Hospitals list methodology includes objective measures, such as patient outcomes, including mortality and infection rates, as well as compliance with best practices.

 

Reacting to the news, Michael D. Cabana, M.D., MPH, physician-in-chief at CHAM, who is also “The Michael I. Cohen, M.D. university chair at the Department of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine,” said, “As we mark CHAM’s 20^th anniversary, we couldn’t be more proud of our colleagues who heroically provide the most advanced and specialized care to children with a wide range of health challenges.”

 

According to hospital officials, this year, the specialty of neontology at CHAM ranks as number 19 in the country for “the outstanding and compassionate care delivered to the most fragile newborns, enabling them to grow and thrive.”

 

Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practiced in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Officials cited patients like 20-year-old Skye Saunders, who was born at 24 weeks and battled multiple medical issues, including brain bleeds and vision impairment, as being one of the beneficiaries of the hospital’s neonatal care.

 

“Today, she is a junior at Purchase College where she recently received an award for community service, academic accomplishments, and her ability to overcome obstacles,” hospital officials said. “Skye, a mentor to children with disabilities, who is graduating from college early with a double major in journalism and history, is a testament to the CHAM neonatology team, and her family.”

 

Deborah Campbell, M.D., F.A.A.P. is chief of neonatology at CHAM and professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She said the earlier babies are born, the more health​, behavioral ​and developmental problems they tend to experience. “Our goal is to ​partner with, ​and empower our families to ​be active participants in the multidisciplinary team of experts, providing the best possible care for infants ​and giving them a solid foundation for achieving lifelong health,” she said.

 

According to the nonprofit, March of Dimes, in the Bronx, 1 in 10 babies is born preterm – meaning before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Officials say the rate of preterm births is highest for Black infants (11.5 percent), followed by Hispanic babies (9.7 percent). These babies can be very small, having a low birthweight and immature organs and requiring sophisticated therapies to help them breathe and feed.

 

CHAM officials say every year, the neonatology team at CHAM successfully cares for hundreds of seriously ill newborns from the Bronx, and throughout the Hudson Valley.

 

Visit Best Children’s Hospitals for the full rankings.