U.S. News & World Report has ranked Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital as one of the nation’s best pediatric hospitals for 2024 in every category

(PRUnderground) October 9th, 2024

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, in partnership with University of Utah Health, is ranked as one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in all 11 pediatric specialties – including four top 25 rankings.

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital is also tied for No. 1 in the nation for its outcomes in neurology and neurosurgery for the third consecutive year.

“From our prestigious Magnet Hospital nursing designation, to our top-ranked neurology and neuro surgery patient outcomes and continued excellence in complex heart procedures, this year’s Best Children’s Hospitals rankings demonstrate our relentless pursuit of excellence for the patients we serve,” said Dustin Lipson, president of Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Salt Lake Campus.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals Rankings ranks the nation’s top 50 children’s hospitals in 11 specialties to help patients, their families, and healthcare providers make informed decisions about their healthcare.

U.S. News ranked Intermountain Primary Children’s in the Top 25 in these specialties:

• Neurology & Neurosurgery, #10 (with patient outcomes ranked first in the nation)
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery, #15
• Nephrology, #22
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, #25

Intermountain Primary Children’s is ranked in all other specialties measured for Best Children’s Hospitals, which are:

• Behavioral Health
• Cancer
• Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders
• Neonatal Care
• Orthopedics
• Pulmonology
• Urology

Primary Children’s highly ranked neurology and neurosurgery services brought hope and healing to 12-year-old Owen Jacobsen of St. George, Utah.

Owen started having unexplained seizures when he was 11 years old.

They started as strange sensations in his left arm and progressed to a tremor.

When he had an apparent grand mal seizure at home, “it was long and it was violent,” his mom Rindi Jacobsen recalled.

Worse, Owen remained conscious. During this time, he thought he was dying.

Brain scans taken in the emergency department showed a common cyst. The seizure was thought to be an isolated incident. But Owen had another one two days later.

“This was the beginning of one of the most frightening experiences of our lives,” his mom said.

The seizures worsened and interfered with the bright, active boy’s schoolwork and activities. He struggled to play French horn, which gave him headaches. Medication made him groggy. Competitive soccer and swimming became too much, as did in-person school. He switched to online classes.

Owen’s dad, a dermatologist, felt something just wasn’t right. He asked doctors to take another look at Owen’s images, and they identified a tumor next to the cyst in his brain.

Owen was referred to Intermountain Primary Children’s in Salt Lake City, where he would meet pediatric neurosurgeon Robert Bollo, MD, from University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.

“Dr. Bollo has been kind, compassionate, and professional from the first moment we met him,” Owen’s mom said. “We were thrilled with the surgical options he offered for Owen, and the way he reassured us as a family that he could help Owen. We immediately felt that we were in good hands – amazingly skilled, surgical, brilliant hands.”

Owen underwent a highly specialized procedure called Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy. LITT is used in place of craniotomy surgery that is far more invasive and has a longer recovery time and greater risk for cognitive problems afterward.

Offered in few children’s hospitals nationwide, surgeons performing LITT use a probe with special fibers inserted through a small hole in the skull and guided by images on an iMRI machine. The technology allowed Dr. Bollo to ensure he would burn away only cancer cells and leave healthy brain structures in place.

It worked.

“Seizures weren’t fun,” Owen said, “and after surgery they were gone.”

Owen was able to start seventh grade with his classmates at Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School.  He is on the MATHCOUNTS team, the swim team, and the student council. He rides his bike and is back to playing French Horn in the school band.

“He’s back to himself and doing so great, living a happy, vibrant life,” Owen’s mom added. “He’s better than ever. He’s thriving, and we feel so grateful and so much hope that this experience  in our rear-view mirror. It’s a miracle.”

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, the pediatric specialty teaching hospital for the University of Utah School of Medicine, has been ranked No. 1 in the country for neurology and neurosurgery patient outcomes for four of the past five years.

“We are committed to continually improving clinical care and helping Primary Children’s patients thrive, and as a result, are recruiting some of the nation’s best physicians to our teams,” said Angelo P. Giardino, MD, PhD, chair of the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and chief medical officer at Primary Children’s Hospital. “This independent national recognition underscores this commitment and our outstanding teamwork to high-quality, compassionate care to children.”

New this year: Best Children’s Hospitals began rankings in behavioral health services, a first-ever list that includes Intermountain Primary Children’s.

Improving access to behavioral health services is part of Intermountain Health’s Primary Promise to create the nation’s model health system for children, which also includes work to strengthen Primary Children’s Hospital.

This opportunity to invest in the future of our children’s health has attracted $600 million in a powerful partnership between philanthropic members of the community and Intermountain Health. Philanthropic support is still needed to help more children survive and thrive – like Owen.

“I wouldn’t shop around for care, I’d just come straight to Primary Children’s Hospital,” Rindi Jacobsen said. “We knew that if we could get to Primary Children’s, that was going to be the best thing for us. We felt comforted from the moment we got an appointment there.”

For up-to-date information and announcements please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.

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