Scottish Rite for Children No. 2 in the Nation & No. 1 in Texas for Pediatric Orthopedic Care by U.S. News & World Report

Scottish Rite for Children No. 2 in the Nation & No. 1 in Texas for Pediatric Orthopedic Care by U.S. News & World Report

Scottish Rite for Children ranks No. 2 in the nation for pediatric orthopedic care according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 “Best Hospitals for Pediatric Orthopedics” rankings. This places Scottish Rite, yet again, at No. 1 for pediatric orthopedics in Texas and the Southwest region, which includes Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Since specialty rankings began in 2007, Scottish Rite has repeatedly led the nation as a top 10 pediatric orthopedic hospital.

“We believe that the patient experience should be extraordinary from start to finish,” said President and CEO Robert Walker. “As a national leader and the best pediatric orthopedic hospital in Texas, hundreds of thousands of children have benefited from our exemplary patient care, innovative research and the unrivaled education of our fellows, residents and other medical professionals who go on to provide transformative care around the world.”

U.S. News determines their rankings with the help of a research and consulting firm that analyzes data from 108 children’s hospitals across 11 specialties and surveys thousands of pediatric specialists. Children’s hospitals awarded a “Best” designation excelled at factors including clinical outcomes, level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care, and expert opinion among pediatric specialists. The rankings assist parents and caregivers, along with their physicians, in navigating the challenges of choosing the best possible care for children with serious conditions or complex medical needs.


“Consistently receiving recognition from esteemed peers across the country reinforces our position as the expert in pediatric orthopedic care,” said Chief of Staff Daniel J. Sucato, M.D., M.S. “At the same time, we are child-focused, ensuring that the patient is at the center of everything we do. The feeling of being seen and heard, of knowing that you matter, is crucial to the healing process.”

Scottish Rite is also nationally ranked in patient satisfaction. Earlier this year, for the eighth time, the hospital received the NRC Health 2024 Excellence in Patient Experience Award in the children’s hospital category.

“Our multidisciplinary team of surgeons, nurses, therapists, researchers and in-house specialists collaborate to offer our patients and their families a continuum of care that is unmatched,” said Sucato. “We treat the whole child, which may include addressing mental, emotional and behavioral needs as well as their physical condition.”

With 23 pediatric orthopedic surgeons on staff, Scottish Rite employs more than any other provider in the Southwest. Scottish Rite orthopedists write and edit the textbook considered the gold standard orthopedic reference guide by practitioners worldwide. Producing graduates who now hold leadership positions at children’s hospitals across the country, the Dorothy & Bryant Edwards Fellowship in Orthopedics and Scoliosis program is one of the oldest and the largest pediatric orthopedic fellowships in the world. The organization’s robust research program has not only discovered and mapped genes associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, clubfoot and lupus, but it has also invented and advanced revolutionary medical devices resulting in more than 50 patents.

In collaboration with UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center, Scottish Rite for Children has repeatedly garnered recognition from U.S. News for its commitment to excellence, consistently ranking the organization among the best pediatric orthopedic facilities in the United States. The rankings and ratings are available online here.

​About U.S. News Rankings
Introduced in 2007 to help families of children with rare or life-threatening illnesses find the best medical care available, U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals rankings are the most comprehensive source of quality-related information on U.S. pediatric hospitals.

U.S. News, alongside a research and consulting firm, collected and analyzed data from 119 children’s hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists. Children’s hospitals awarded a “Best” designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care and expert opinion among pediatric specialists.

Scottish Rite Hospital Staff Return from Spain with Two Major Awards

Scottish Rite Hospital Staff Return from Spain with Two Major Awards

Last week, our medical staff and researchers attended the 2017 EPOSNA conference in Barcelona, Spain. This inaugural meeting combined two established pediatric orthopedic societies, POSNA (Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America) and EPOS (European Pediatric Orthopaedic Society) to foster education and research on a global scale.

Scottish Rite Hospital had a tremendous showing with presentations throughout the four-day meeting. The hospital returned from Spain with two of the three major awards given at the meeting – Best Quality, Safety, Value Initiative (QSVI) presentation and Best Basic Science Research podium presentation. Staff Orthopedist, Amy L. McIntosh, M.D., and Director of Performance Improvement, Kerry Wilder, received the QSVI award on their work in quality improvement regarding reductions in surgical site infections (SSI) in patients undergoing spine surgery. This is a great accomplishment as this is the first quality improvement award the hospital has won at an international meeting. Staff orthopedist, Lawson A.B Copley, M.D., received the award for Best Basic Science Paper for his research work on acute hematogeonous osteomyelitis (AHO), which is a bone infection that is most commonly caused by bacteria called, Staphylococcus aureus. Copley and his team conducted a thorough analysis of bacterial virulence genes (genes responsible for causing infection) isolated from children with osteomyelitis to determine which ones were associated with a severe illness.

The 2017 EPOSNA combined meeting provided a great opportunity for our staff to learn and present their work to fellow medical professionals from around the world. Research and education continues to be at the forefront to help answer the challenging questions we face and is critical in carrying out the hospital’s mission to ultimately provide the very best care to our patients and children everywhere.