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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save This article is brought to you by Ochsner Health. For the fourth year in a row and since the inception of this level of recognition, Ochsner Children’s Hospital is the number one hospital for kids in Louisiana, according to the 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospital rankings by U.S.
News & World Report. Additionally, for eight consecutive years, Ochsner Children’s Hospital has earned a top 50 ranking for one or more specialty. “Ochsner Children’s Hospital is driven by the commitment of our entire team.
We have a long history dating back several decades of working collaboratively to provide the best care possible for our patients,” said Vincent “Butch” Adolph, MD, chief medical officer at Ochsner Children’s. “Recognition such as this is not the goal but rather the result of the dedication and effort of the pediatrics team, who provide innovative, high-quality care to patients from across the state and the entire Gulf South region daily.” Three Ochsner Children’s Hospital specialties ranked among the top 50 nationally – pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, pediatric gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, and pediatric orthopedics.
This is the second year that Ochsner Children’s has achieved national recognition in three specialties in the same year. Pediatric cardiology and heart surgery has been ranked six years in a row, moving up three positions this year, from No. 34 to No.
31. Pediatric gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery ranked among the top 50 for the fourth time, and pediatric orthopedics is ranked nationally for the third year in a row. Benjamin Peeler, MD, chief of pediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery at Ochsner Children’s, noted that the program this year received the highest ranking ever for an Ochsner Children’s specialty.
“I think some of our most significant work has been our treatment of complex neonatal cases. The level of care we offer these babies is not available anywhere else in the region,” Dr. Peeler said.
“Nobody else in our area is doing pediatric heart transplants, or pediatric mechanical assist devices. Those simply are not available anywhere else near New Orleans.” Dr.
Peeler said that in a typical year, 50% of heart surgeries in the department are performed on the most delicate patients - newborns and babies under one year old. He noted that Ochsner Children’s patients have a high number of positive outcomes overall, and their results tend to be even better for the most complex cases, including heart transplants. “It takes a lot of different people doing their jobs really well to have quality outcomes in pediatric heart surgery,” he said.
“We’ve been able to recruit successfully in multiple disciplines. We’ve built a pediatric cardiac ICU. Our clinical care is excellent.
All of that comes together for us to continue to build and increase our ranking every year.” Ryan Himes, MD, system associate chair and section head of pediatric gastroenterology at Ochsner Children’s, said the program has grown extensively over the last decade. Today, the hospital offers the largest and most comprehensive pediatric liver care and liver transplant program in the region and earned a Center of Excellence designation from the National Pancreas Foundation for its care of children with pancreatic disorders.
The department’s physicians also treat other conditions, including those that affect the stomach, intestines, liver and more. “When I came to Ochsner five years ago, the pull for me was the opportunity to grow and expand the pediatric liver program into one with a wider regional reach. By building these teams at Ochsner Children’s, families no longer have to uproot themselves for months at a time,” Dr.
Himes said. “I’m also excited to be at an academic medical center, where part of our job is to participate in clinical research trials. Those are often really good opportunities for patients to access a therapy that may not otherwise be available.
” In addition, Dr. Himes said Ochsner Children’s intestinal rehabilitation program has steadily grown. The program allows infants and children with severe intestinal disorders to transition from IV nutrition to eating by mouth or a feeding tube.
While such specialized treatment can be life-changing for kids, Dr. Himes said addressing simple problems is also meaningful on a day-to-day basis. “The job of a gastroenterologist is to pick needles out of a haystack and to know when symptoms might indicate something serious and need more investigation,” he said.
“When we can examine kids, do some lab tests and give them a clean bill of health and recommendations to help alleviate pain, that’s just as important to parents as addressing complex conditions.” Lawrence Haber, MD, section head of pediatric orthopedic surgery at Ochsner Children’s, said physicians treat the full extent of pediatric orthopedic disorders. These range from fractures and common orthopedic conditions, to the most complex of problems.
In addition, they have also developed sub-specialty niches that attract patients from across the Gulf South. “We’ve developed one of the largest pediatric spine programs in the region and have families from Florida to Texas who seek us out for children’s spine disorders,” said Dr. Haber, noting that scoliosis is the most common spine condition that needs treatment.
Haber has been on the forefront of developing a new treatment for scoliosis, vertebral body tethering (VBT), which gives children with growth remaining the option for a minimally invasive and motion sparing surgery instead of the traditional fusion with screws and rods. “Though we perform fusions all the time, VBT is a great option for the appropriate patients. We also attract regionally to our hip preservation program for children and young adults.
The aim of hip preservation surgery is to treat patients with pediatric hip disorders that may lead to early hip failure, thus prolonging the life of their hip until much later in life and avoiding the need for early hip replacement. Ochsner also has one of the most comprehensive neuromuscular programs in the region. This includes multispecialty clinics for cerebral palsy, spinal bifida, spasticity as well as other disorders.
The program includes the region’s only gait or motion analysis lab. Additionally, we have a multispecialty bone health/dysplasia clinic that treats children with bone disorders such as achondroplasia, skeletal dysplasias and children with increased risks for fracture, utilizing the most modern treatments. Pediatric Orthopedics is a very broad specialty and we are excited that we are able to address almost any condition at an extremely high level with great outcomes.
” While teams at Ochsner Children’s are consistently working together on research projects and treatment advances, Dr. Haber said the hospital also has strong collaborations with the University of Missouri and the Mayo Clinic, particularly when it comes to finding new ways to treat scoliosis and other spine disorders. That means that local children have some of the best access in the country to leading edge treatments.
“Everything we do is a truly collaborative effort. That helps us get the best outcomes for our patients,” he said. “For us to do well and for our patients to do well depends on so many people, even ones that the patients may never see.
This ranking is a testament to all of them and the great work they are doing day in and day out.” William “Billy” Lennarz, MD, system chair for pediatrics at Ochsner Children’s said, “the entire hospital staff embraces the philosophy that it takes a village to care for a child. That village includes everyone from surgeons and physicians to psychologists, social workers, dietitians, nurses, child life specialists, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and so many more.
The team should be proud that they have brought an international standard of care to kids in Louisiana.” As they look toward the future, the planned construction of a new Ochsner Children’s Hospital will allow for even more families to receive high quality care. The Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital will be near Ochsner’s main campus in Old Jefferson.
“We are thrilled to have an opportunity to continue to build our nationally ranked programs in the new home for Ochsner Children’s Hospital,” said Dr. Adolph. “This is an exciting time for pediatric healthcare in our region, and we’re just getting started.
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