Johns Hopkins Children’s Center has been ranked third in U.S. News & World Report’s new annual rankings of American children’s hospitals. For the first time, the magazine rated children’s hospitals separately from its annual American hospital rankings, using a new methodology. U.S. News & World Report editors say the decision to judge pediatrics on its own using more hard data is an attempt to move away from ranking pediatrics in its entirety based on reputation alone.

“We are extremely proud to be the third best pediatric hospital in the nation,” said George Dover, M.D., director and pediatrician-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. “We are also thrilled that this new measurement of excellence found our faculty physicians, nurses, trainees and staff are among the absolute best for pediatric care.”

“The Children’s Center has a long history of groundbreaking research, training leaders in academic pediatrics and excellent primary care pediatricians, and superior patient care. It is the birthplace of modern pediatric medicine,” said a joint letter announcing the news to employees issued by Edward D. Miller, M.D., Dean/CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine and Ronald R. Peterson, President of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. “We are pleased to be recognized once again by the magazine.”

Miller and Peterson noted that U.S. News & World Report in July ranked Johns Hopkins Hospital number one in the nation. Dover said that the Children’s Center is on track to enhance its outstanding pediatric care with a new children’s hospital now scheduled to open its doors in early 2011.

“Our new state-of-the-art hospital will house emergency, surgical, interventional, critical and acute care for infants and children,” Dover said. “This world-class facility will further advance the Children’s Center position as a leader in pediatric care, research, and training.”

In the past, U.S. News & World Report relied on a survey of a children’s hospital’s reputation among a national sample of doctors because no central repository of data exists for pediatrics as it does for adult medicine. Its recent survey included quantitative and structural data such as total discharges, average daily census and types of surgery.

Since the magazine’s rankings began in 1990, pediatrics appeared as a subspecialty in the annual hospital rankings, where the Children’s Center consistently ranked between second and fourth best. But this year, the magazine launched a new initiative to base pediatric hospital rankings on hard data provided by the leading children’s hospitals. For a complete list of all rankings, go to www.USNews.com.