(CHICAGO) — U.S.News & World Report’s 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings have included Rush Children’s Hospital in two of the 10 categories, an increase from one last year. Rush Children’s Hospital was ranked #35 in gastroenterology and #44 in neonatology. The rankings are published on www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

“The rankings are indicative of the excellent care, dedication and expertise that Rush provides to the sickest children across all of Rush Children’s Hospital programs, and we are glad to see two excellent specialties recognized by U.S. News this year,” said Larry Goodman, MD, CEO of Rush Medical Center.

The rankings feature 50 hospitals in each of 10 pediatric specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. Only 80 hospitals across the country ranked in one or more specialties.

U.S. News provides quality-related information in addition to rankings, including survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing and procedure volume. The rankings have put an increasing emphasis on data that directly reflect hospitals’ performance.

This year, U.S. News surveyed 178 pediatric centers to obtain hard data such as availability of key resources and ability to prevent complications and infections. The hospital survey made up 75 percent of the rankings. A separate reputational survey in which 1,500 pediatric specialists—150 in each specialty—were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty made up the remaining 25 percent.

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals. The rankings will also be published in the U.S.News Best Hospitals 2013 guidebook, which will be available in August.

“This honor names Rush Children’s Hospital as one of the best centers in the nation, and is something for everyone at Rush and for the communities we serve to be proud of,” Dr. Goodman said.