Cleveland Clinic Children’s 2019-20 U.S. News Rankings: Innovations, Patient Stories and Experts

For the 12th consecutive year, Cleveland Clinic Children’s is ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals.

As an integral part of Cleveland Clinic, which was ranked the nation’s No. 2 hospital in 2018 by U.S. News, Cleveland Clinic Children’s earned national recognition in 9 out of 10 specialties.

Cleveland Clinic has cared for infants, children, and adolescents since its doors first opened in 1921. That history of pediatric caregiving has blossomed into Cleveland Clinic Children’s, standing today as one of America’s leading and largest providers of comprehensive pediatric care. Now, it’s more than 300 pediatricians, practitioners and specialists – and more than 50 outpatient sites – provide the full spectrum of primary, specialty, and sub-specialty care to the largest patient population of any children’s hospital in Northeast Ohio.

Innovations & Inspiring Patient Stories

Autism

Student with Autism Earns Boy Scout’s Highest Honor

In the past decade, only about 6 percent of Boy Scouts have earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. 20-year-old Timmy Hargate – a longtime student at the Lerner School for Autism – is one of them. Timmy is often mute and uses a speech-generating device to communicate. Working with his teachers, he planned a Field Day at Lerner School as his Eagle Scout Project.

Cancer

Teen Battling Thyroid Cancer Delivers Inspiring Graduation Speech

Doctors diagnosed Tanner with a rare and aggressive form of thyroid cancer. After undergoing multiple surgeries, chemotherapy treatments and a unique clinical trial, Tanner delivered a moving high school graduation speech –turning his journey into inspiration for others.

Cardiology & Heart Surgery

3D Printing Helps Doctors Reconstruct Baby’s Malformed Heart

Twenty-eight weeks into her pregnancy, Megan Curtis learned from a routine sonogram that her daughter Paisley has a congenital condition in which the heart points toward the right side of the chest instead of the left side. At 9 months old, she underwent a lifesaving operation in which Dr. Hani Najm used 3D printing to prep for the intricate procedure. She is one of the youngest patients to undergo this procedure

Neonatology

First-Time Parents Grateful for Newborn’s Lifesaving Care

Natalie Bohach was born at 36 weeks, after an ultrasound detected an abnormality. She had a diaphragmatic hernia, a birth defect where there is an opening in the diaphragm, allowing organs to move up into the chest. At just four days old, Cleveland Clinic Children’s surgeons operated to correct the issue.

Neurology

Headache Turns to Severe Stroke for 11-Year-Old Boy

Vinny Mercurio couldn’t walk, talk, or eat on his own, because of a hemorrhagic stroke. After countless hours of rehab and hard work, Vinny continues making amazing progress.

Achievements & Highlights

Karen Murray, M.D., named Chair of Pediatrics, Physician-in-Chief at Cleveland Clinic Children’s

Karen F. Murray, M.D., a national leader in pediatric gastroenterology, has been named chair of the Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Institute, Physician-in-Chief of Cleveland Clinic Children’s and President of the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation, effective in early July. Dr. Murray will succeed Rita Pappas, M.D., who served as interim chair since 2017.

Dr. Murray joins Cleveland Clinic Children’s from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, where she served as vice chair of Clinical Affairs for the Department of Pediatrics and Professor-in-Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Recently, she has also served as interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Pediatrician-in-Chief of Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Cleveland Clinic Children’s certified to Provide First FDA-Approved CAR-T Cell Therapy for Certain Leukemias

CAR T cell therapy is an innovative cancer treatment for pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). With this therapy, immune cells are removed from a patient’s blood and re-engineered ex vivo to include a gene for CAR. They are then reintroduced into the bloodstream to attack leukemia cells with the CD19 antigen. The treatment, named Kymriah® and known as CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel), is the first therapy of its kind available in the United States.

“It is very exciting, and we see this as the first of many cellular therapies to come for specific types of leukemia. Leukemia affects many organs and involves many specialists, and we believe this is going to be important to providing the very best care to our pediatric patients moving forward,” said Rabi Hanna, MD, chair of pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Cleveland Clinic Children’s Center for Pediatric Rheumatology becomes the largest pediatric rheumatology practice in Northeast Ohio

We provide comprehensive care for inflammatory and autoimmune disorders that affect the joints, muscles, skin, blood vessels and selective organ systems. We are a regional, national and international referral center for families seeking second opinion services for their child’s pediatric rheumatologic condition. Our team has expertise in a number of pediatric rheumatology conditions, including JIA, lupus, dermatomyositis, scleroderma, vasculitis and unique childhood autoinflammatory diseases. We have a combined clinic with pediatric dermatology, focusing on autoimmune skin conditions, such as psoriasis, which also may affect a patient’s musculoskeletal system.