Hospitals

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Best Children’s Hospital for all rated specialty areas

  • Top-10 programs. Leading research. Incomparable experience/people.
  • Top 10 in clinical care and research. Unsurpassed in bedside manner.
  • Top 10 in clinical care and research. Number 1 in putting patients first/dedication/ determination/drive/ambition/commitment/resolve/tenacity.
  • Leading clinical innovations. Growing programs and research. Transforming quality care.
  • Creating the future of pediatric care and research. Today.
  • Top-rated clinical programs. A leader in research funding. Best of the best in dedication.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is the second-largest pediatric hospital in the United States. We are one of only 10 hospitals to be named to the U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital Honor Roll, and we rank 6th in research funding from the National Institutes of Health.  Together, our clinical expertise and research prowess help us do great things for today’s children while we create the future of pediatric medicine. 

We believe that when children need better options, everything matters.   

A leader among leaders

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is consistently ranked as a Top 10 children’s hospital in the United States. We are also ranked as a Best Children’s Hospital for all rated specialty areas. 

The proof is in our people — and our programs

Our reputation for quality and innovation comes from seeking out the nation’s best surgeons, clinicians and physician-scientists to lead and staff our highly specialized programs. We support our faculty in their efforts to craft clinics that offer some of the world’s most advanced pediatric procedures, and we care for children with even the rarest conditions. We provide our clinical leaders with the top-quality staff and cutting-edge equipment they require to improve the standard of care for their entire field of medicine. And we open our doors to everyone.

Nationwide Children’s provides more than 1.6 million patient visits per year and has 1,489 medical staff and more than 13,000 employees. We offer the largest neonatal network and are the largest provider of pediatric surgery in the United States, according to the Children’s Hospital Association. We have cared for children from all 50 states and more than 50 countries, and national and international referrals are growing for our prestigious programs.

The following highlighted programs represent just a sample of the unique, highly specialized care available at Nationwide Children’s. 

Comprehensive Neuro-Oncology Care and Research Opportunities

Our neuro-oncology program is an international destination for pediatric, adolescent and young adult patients with malignant brain and spinal cord tumors, thanks to the leadership and expertise of Medical Director Maryam Fouladi, MD, MSc, FRCP, and Surgical Director Jeffrey Leonard, MD. They continue the program’s long tradition of professional leadership and internationally collaborative research through the Head Start program and the CONNECT consortium, which develop and test novel brain tumor therapies in early-phase clinical trials. 

Innovative Approaches for Rare Neuromuscular and Genetic Conditions

Nationwide Children’s physician-researchers including Jerry Mendell, MD, led the Phase 1 clinical trial studying the first gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), a severe and progressive neuromuscular disease that often results in death by the age of 2. Thanks to his groundbreaking research, the FDA-approved ZOLGENSMA®, an intravenous gene therapy injection that transforms the disease trajectory for these children and dramatically improves patient and caregiver quality of life. The Center for Gene Therapy at The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s now has more than 20 gene therapy targets in its research pipeline. 

Neurology Programs With Transformative Neurosurgery Techniques

Ranked 7th in the nation in Neurology and Neurosurgery, we are one of only a few hospitals in the United States offering selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), a specialized procedure for children with spasticity to reduce pain and improve mobility. Nationwide Children’s is also home to the world’s top experts in epilepsy care, providing a wide range of advanced treatment options for medically intractable epilepsy that can lessen seizure severity and may cure the child’s epilepsy entirely. Our Level 4 Epilepsy Center has achieved 100 percent surgical survival and post-surgery (Engle class) outcomes significantly higher than national averages.

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for Every Need

From our Cleft Lip and Palate Center to our 22q Center, our internationally recognized clinicians and surgeons work in multidisciplinary teams to provide the best of both surgical and clinical care to each and every patient. Experts in each subspecialty of this precise surgical field perform even the most complex palate, velopharyngeal, vascular, skin, post-trauma and craniofacial operations—including brachial plexus, microsurgery, muscle reinnervation and facial reanimation procedures offered at only a handful of institutions in the United States.   

Cardiothoracic Surgery Expertise That Reinvented Multiple Cardiac Operations

Our experts in minimally invasive heart surgery and open-heart surgery developed and now lead the world in novel hybrid procedures, allowing greater use of minimally invasive approaches for complicated heart operations. This reduces patient exposure to blood products, shortens recovery time, and can often improve outcome while reducing risk. Our innovative Hybrid Catheterization Suite is designed specifically to facilitate safer and faster cardiac procedures. The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s also hosts the country’s first FDA-approved clinical study of the safety and effectiveness of tissue-engineered blood vessels in infants with congenital heart defects—a novel treatment approach that allows a child’s body to take over the graft with healthy tissue that will grow and function like a native vessel.   

One-of-a-Kind Collaboration in Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction 

Our comprehensive team of pediatric surgeons and physicians have special expertise in colorectal surgery, reconstructive urology and gynecology, and gastroenterology with a specific interest and advanced training in motility disorders. The Center for Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction (CCPR) treats children with anorectal and cloacal malformations, cloacal exstrophy, bladder exstrophy, Hirschsprung disease, severe functional constipation and the most complex reconstructive problems—including re-operative surgery on children treated elsewhere. Our center serves children of all ages at various stages in their care continuum and throughout the life span, and more than 60% of patients come from outside of Ohio. 

Gastroenterology Care Focused on Permanent Solutions

Chief Carlo Di Lorenzo, MD, is widely regarded as one of the world’s top experts in diagnosing and treating functional neurogastrointestinal and motility disorders in children. Under his guidance, the Motility Center at Nationwide Children’s has developed unique and innovative expertise in diagnosing and treating pediatric intestinal pseudo-obstruction, gastroparesis, rumination syndrome and post-surgical defecation disorders. In many cases, our treatment programs for these conditions are among only a handful of such centers in the world. Our extensive expertise with the nerve, muscle and behavioral elements of these complex conditions allows us to skillfully and holistically treat our patients with a multidisciplinary and collaborative team.

Driving advanced pediatric research forward

At Nationwide Children’s, we believe research enables us to offer better care for our patients, today and tomorrow. We believe it helps our clinicians innovate to create new and better care solutions for patients. It helps us learn how we can do better. And it helps deliver the science behind future breakthroughs in pediatric medicine. That’s why we prioritize both clinical research and basic scientific study. 

Support and resources for traveling (and remote) families

Our Global Patient Services program exists to help international families decide about coming to Nationwide Children’s. Once they do, we help families get here conveniently, stay here comfortably and return home with the information they need to transition smoothly back into their local care plan. The program guides families through all aspects of care and provides seamless, personalized assistance with appointments, care and finance coordination, and more. We also coordinate with referring physicians to connect them with the right specialists and ensure that communication runs smoothly before and after their patients’ visits.

Go online to explore Nationwide Children’s — located in friendly, metropolitan Columbus, Ohio — as a destination for some of the best available pediatric care in the United States.

Read more about our specialty programs, renowned clinical leaders, research trials and more at NationwideChildrens.org

Get more information about international patient experiences and even remote international consultations at NationwideChildrens.org/Global-Patient-Services

Fill out a medical inquiry form online to be contacted by one of  our specialty referral clinics at NationwideChildrens.org/medical-inquiry-form

LEARN MORE, REFER A PATIENT, OR PLAN A TRIP:

NationwideChildrens.org/Global-Patient-Services

GlobalPatientServices@NationwideChildrens.org

+1 614 362 9127

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