Texas Children’s Heart Center: No. 1 in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery for the fifth year in a row

Texas Children’s Heart Center® was recently named the best place in the country for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery for the fifth year in a row in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021-22 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. When we learned this news, we were incredibly proud to achieve this milestone. Being ranked No. 1 for the fifth straight year is a testament to our team’s unwavering dedication to providing high-quality care to our patients.

For more than 60 years, our Heart Center’s multidisciplinary team has combined cutting-edge technology with a compassionate and family-centered approach to care. We continue to grow, push the envelope and pave the way as a highly sought and respected center of excellence in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery. Achieving this No. 1 ranking only inspires us to work even harder for our patients. Despite the challenges we all faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued to excel in our outcomes metrics.

What does being ranked No. 1 for the fifth straight year mean to you and your team?

Dr. Penny: We are extremely honored to be considered one of the elite cardiac teams for children and their families. Being named the best place in the nation for children with congenital heart disease means our teams have an even greater role in shaping the field of pediatric cardiology and heart surgery.

Dr. Caldarone: Although we are deeply honored by this recognition, we don’t let it distract us from our mission here at Texas Children’s Heart Center. We’re here to care for our patients, one patient at a time.

What do you think contributed to this coveted recognition?

Dr. Penny: There are so many factors that contributed to this feat. Our Heart Center continues to build on the successes of our previously existing programs and we continue to excel in these outcomes metrics year after year. Our ranking demonstrates the amazing things we can do together. Our Heart Center is a complex system. Everyone contributes and everyone is focused on doing that next little or big thing to make things better for these families. All of us here are firmly dedicated to improving our patient outcomes.

Dr. Caldarone: Our ability to work as a team of highly-skilled professionals is one of the most important aspects of our strategy to provide the best possible care. There is an enormous wealth of talent and skill in our Heart Center, and just being part of this one amazing team never ceases to inspire me.

What makes our Heart Center stand out from other pediatric heart centers in the nation?

Dr. Caldarone: It boils down to world class talent and a fierce devotion to our patients. We have to be able to pass the “mother test” every day. This means we have to be able to look right into the eyes of a mother and assure her with 100% certainty, there is no better place in the world for her baby than Texas Children’s Hospital. This is a promise that we make to every mother every day – and it is a high bar that many institutions cannot make. Fortunately, we can make this promise – and we dedicate our lives to making it true.

Dr. Penny: We recognize the importance of a shared approach to care for these precious families. It’s not just about one group. It’s about being inclusive of the views from all. We share a multidisciplinary approach to care where our teams continually strive to provide unparalleled care at every point from diagnosis through treatment and follow-up, with patient outcomes among the best in the nation. Our teams keep us at the forefront of medical care while maintaining a culture focused on continuous improvement. We measure our performance and drive for better outcomes. Quite simply, we never rest.

What can patients expect when they choose Texas Children’s Heart Center?

Dr. Caldarone: Patients and parents will find a warmly welcoming team made up of the best experts in every field working together to ensure the patient and the family KNOW that we will do whatever is needed to help get them home again.

Dr. Penny: Our patients can expect to receive the best care possible at a center that continues to strive every day to get better. Our focus is on providing the most advanced clinical care and surgical treatments to the tens of thousands of children with heart defects who seek our care annually.

Where do you see the Heart Center in the next 5 to 10 years?

Dr. Penny: Whether we are still No. 1 or No. 25, we will be better than we are now. We will never stop trying to get better. Our patients and their families are counting on us to be the best.

Dr. Caldarone: We will continue to lead the field in developing the newest therapies and obtaining the best outcomes available anywhere. We owe it to our patient families who entrust their children to our care.

Click here to learn more about Texas Children’s Heart Center.